Airports

I love hanging around airports, so I usually go at least 2 hours earlier before a scheduled flight (it's the requirement anyway). Some people hate the wait, but I spend that time being productive (like doing this blog post right now).

Here's five things I do while waiting to board the plane:

1. I go online. I always make sure my laptop/phone is fully charged so I can: (a) check my mail and do some work; (b) check-in Foursquare; (c) say hello to friends on Twitter and Plurk and give traffic information in case I have friends going to the airport as well (traffic was quite heavy today).

2. I write/blog. So I'm doing this post because I kept getting disconnected from mobile internet. I knew I should've loaded up my other dongle. Sometimes I get so busy with work I'm unable to post as much as I used to in my blogs. This blog is the only one I've been updating in the past 2 months.

3. I eat. I always try to drink a glass of my favorite iced milk tea at Kopi Roti, but I fly PAL most of the time so I usually end up eating at Delifrance (I wonder when they're going to add more restos at NAIA 2). There are more food choices though at NAIA 3, especially at the boarding gate area.

4. I read. I catch up on my reading whenever I travel. My companion for this trip are Bo Sanchez and Malcolm Gladwell. Serious stuff, haha.

5. I people watch. There are days when I give my brain a rest, so I'm just happy to observe other travelers. There's definitely a difference between those who travel via PAL and Cebu Pacific. Most people who travel via PAL are either foreigners or business people. Those who travel via Cebu Pac in my observation (and well assumption) travel for fun.

Well it's almost time for me to head to the boarding area and I have to finish my Kopi Roti iced tea with milk and siewmai (yes that's how they spell it). My next post will likely be about my first trip to Zamboanga!

The Lakwatsera in Me

My good friend Rico pinged me his write up about "Lakbayan: How Much Do You Know the Philippines?" on the Bayanihan Blog Network. Eugene, the blogger Vista Pinas behind presents himself as a technology tourist and came up with idea of rating one's know-how on the Philippines, so he created Lakbayan. The Lakwatsera took it and here's my rating -

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

Egads! I need to do some more lakwatsa!!! Read more about my travels at Lakwatsera Ako.

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Good news! The Lakwatsera has been upgraded. Thanks to Eugene!

My Lakbayan grade is C+!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Lakwatsera Ako

Yes, eversince I was a kid my family would tease me that I have "itchy feet" (not the fungal kind!). Well, it's the fault of my parents since I was just a few months old when they started bringing me to Bicol and other local vacation spots and the US when I was 4-years old. I could've lived in the US, but I chose to stay home because I just simply love it here.

In the last iBlog3 our panel was asked, "What do you want bloggers to ponder on?" and I said that as bloggers we should promote what's good in our country. Tourism helps a lot in the economy, so I think it's very important to be an evangelizer for one's country (naks). Anyway, Noemi suggested to me during the Digitalfilipino Web Awards last Friday that I should have a travel blog since I get to travel a lot. I pondered on this and seeing that my stats show that a lot of people read through my travels I thought it'd be great to share my experiences. (I can just imagine Erik chuckling about all the content I'm putting online, LOL).

And here it is:

Tara! Sama na sa paglakwatsa ko!

Translations

Lakwatsera - a person who cannot stay put at home; one who loves to travel and go out
Tara! Sama na sa paglakwatsa ko! - Let's go! Come with me as I travel!