The Comfort Rooms

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will Sydney better itself this time! Warm New Year 'mates!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!! May the New Year usher in a whole new level of greatness!
That's it guys! My last entry for 2007.

God Bless!

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Special mentions to B.I.Sean's Pisanu. I'm gonna try this to boost PR!

** Start Copy Here **


We all know how important getting link backs is and with this chain, you can get the ball rolling! You don’t have to be an established blogger to take part in this chain.

Here are the rules:

1. Copy this post from the point where it says “Start Copy Here” to the point where it says “End Copy Here”

2. Add yourself and 5 of your favorite bloggers to the end of the list.

3. Post this on your blog.


Windows Tips, Tricks and Hacks | Enkay Blog | Ms. Danielle | Cash For Comments | BetShopBoy | JohnCow | Mr.Gary Lee | Jon Lee | Dosh Dosh | Some Make Money | The King Kong Blog | RomanDock | Michael Kwan | Ed Lau | Jane May | Sam Breadstone | ProBlogger | The Beef Jerky Blog | The Prize Blog | Online Coupon Codes | digitalnomad | 2Perfect | Derek Semmler dot com | Everyday Weekender | iffect | B I S E A N | The Lost Boy | Bangkok Mom | Oh See What the Cat Drags In | I'm Sanne | Dummies Guide to Google Blogger | Bangkok Bugle | The Comforts Rooms | Twisted Tomato | FerBert | Blogberry Mom | Johnny Bravo | Coco Nuter |




**End Copy Here**

Hope this'll work! I know too that making your blog look like a link farm would do harm and "bleed" your link juice as well!

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Where do you think is this city located? Clue, its on an island nation and its main language is French.

Enjoy!

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I have just found some amazing Manila photographs. One was taken some 50 years ago of Manila High School's baseball team and another one of the city's entrance from some residential backdoor.

Here are the two pictures!

pix number 1


and pix number 2


Enjoy!

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hello everyone! I feel like i've been blogging regularly for the past month. So far, i got 22 posts for this month, another 22 the previous month.

i'm no technocrat, so i'm not really that learned in improving my blog. i don't know how to add another page here, i guess blogger's pretty much basic, i don't know.

i write about anything and everything that i could think of. and i know that i should be responsible enough to thing through what i would like to write about. topics that range from photography, to landscapes, cityscapes, different places around the world, places that i've been to, my reactions to current events, and things that relate to sports, to food and about my personal life. i really, really appreciate all those who commend me for the job that i've done and for all those who keep on commenting on those blog posts.

i have but one simple question: HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY LOVEY-DOVEY BLOG?

keep those comments coming!
envoie moi tes suggestions! merci beaucoup! sois prudent et ne te fais pas tuer ou renverser par une voiture! haha!

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Definitely the face of Pakistan's democracy, Benazir Bhutto has just been killed by some COWARD suicide bombers a few hours ago.

Attempted to get assassinated a couple of times before and her father himself was a victim to such cowardly act.

Quoting Mrs. Bhutto, "I don’t fear death...I don’t think it can happen unless God wants it to happen because so many people have tried to kill me."

This act only worsen Pakistan's image and dignity across the (civilized) world.

This is gullibility and cowardice at its finest.

TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE:May GUILT won't put you to rest until you lie down to your graves.

Justice to Benazir Bhutto's death!!

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this is my definition of Shangri-La. Bhutan.



i wonder if they allow non-Buddhists to stay there though. The place looks so serene. I feel like approaching Nirvana once i got to stay there.

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Since a part of my blog is about comparing two similar things from different sides of the globe, allow me today, to blog about similar mythical creatures that continually enchant the globe.

One of the mythical birds connote power and the other one is about grandeur. We're talking about the Phoenix and the Sarimanok.



The Phoenix have complex origins across the Eurasian landmass. The mythical bird has origins from Japan to China, to Greece and down to Egypt. It also has a Judeo-Christian origin as it was believed that the Phoenix was the only animal that did not join Adam from his banishment from the Garden of Eden.

The Phoenix is also popularly known to live and die after every 100 years.



The Sarimanok, meanwhile, traces its origin from early Islamic legend wherein Mohammad saw a giant rooster in the first heaven. Islamic myth also tells that the Sarimanok will only stop crowing once the Judgement day would arrive.

The Sarimanok also is a popular mythical creature in the Southern Philippines.

I hope you were able to learn a thing here!

Have a great day and Happy Holidays!!!!

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It's definitely the best, most family-oriented time of the year. May the main reason of the season bring all of you the happiness you wish for.


Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon!

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from L-R (TOP) Popocatepetl, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Kinabalu. (BOTTOM) Kilimanjaro, Uluru, and The Rock of Gibraltar

In this season to go a-binging, I bet everyone would turn two to three inches bigger and probably some five pounds heavier. The main culprit? Christmas parties, Christmas feasts, Noche Buenas, and all other reason to go partying and eating.

After Christmas and New Year, all that would be left will be over-used credit cards, tired wallets, overworked feet, excess fruit cakes, calendars (as if 10 calendars is not enough), shirts, and a fully-loaded fridge. Tis the season for extra flabs and poundages!

No wonder, hitting the gym would top everyone's New Year's resolution.

I wanna climb mountains. I think its tourism, cultural immersion, and fitness rolled into one. I can't go for a Himalayan, Andean or Mt. McKinley type of mountaineering just yet. I'm quite a novice.

Almost all of the mountains that I've featured are relatively easy climbs, although I'm quite partial to both Popocatepetl(Mexico) and Sugar Loaf Mountain(Brazil). Man, Kilimanjaro's ice sheet is fast vanishing. It was said that in a few years, all of its ice would be gone. But before all of the hielo would be gone, let me climb the famous volcano along with the other six!

Enjoy the day!

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That's Curbie, the Simpsonized me.

Check thru this link. It's nice!

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When Filipinos think of the bestest beaches that can be found in the country, instinct will tell them to direct their thoughts and their eyes (if you're holding a map and looking through it) to everything south of Manila.

Practically all of the islands between Luzon and Borneo have wonderful coastlines to offer both locals and foreigners (Koreans?!) alike. I need not to mention all of those islands. That would be tons! Remember, 7,107 islands make up the entire Philippine archipelago!

How about northern Luzon? Unfortunately, only a few people would notice that Northern Philippines have wonderful beaches to offer as well. Aside from the beautiful Pagudpud, La Union, the Hundred Islands and the oh-so-enchanting Batanes, only a few would recognize that Northern Luzon have beautiful beaches as well.

Have you heard of Sabang in Aurora Province? How about Anguib in Cagayan North? For sure only a few people would know that. However, this unfamiliarity have also its upsides. Lesser people means lesser commercialization. And lesser commercialization means less stress.

Right now, my favorite quite-unknown tropical destination is the Anawangin cove in Zambales, facing the South China Sea. Pine trees in the white sand? How's that?! It's basically a camper's haven.

Here are the pictures:

how's that?!

i never thought this would be Philippines too.


Thanks for viewing the post! I hope you liked it!

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one of these ladies is a Korean, a Chinese, and a Japanese

A question was raised on Yahoo Answers, by, obviously a non-Asian person (the avatar was that of an African-American guy, so I presume that it was an African-American male who asked the question).
He asked what was the difference between a Chinese, a Japanese, and a Korean face. Being an Asian and having traces of Southern Chinese and Japanese in myself, it was easy for me to really pinpoint which is Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
The easiest for me really is to see who's Chinese. Just take their pictures and the Japanese and Korean would strike similar hand gestures!
Of course, once you hear them talking and start writing in characters, that would be an obvious giveaway!
One of the respondents to the question gave a link to a certain site called AllLookSame.com. It has a cool quiz wherein you have to guess which is Japanese, Korean, and Chinese! Try the quiz! It was fun!

But hey, I've got a word to that guy who asked the question, if he was having trouble with distinguishing which is Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, would he still have the problem with distinguishing between Swedes, Finns and Norwegians to Jordanians, Lebanese, and Turks to Senegalese, Nigerian and Kenyans to Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to Guatemalans, Mexicans, and Nicaraguans?

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Man, I'm so not in the mood to do blogging!

The past few entries here have become all personal to me.

I think I'm on my way to being fired. Yeah, It's a company decision to cut down on manpower. You see, I work for an online auto parts company. We thrive and we survive as long as our ranking stays on the upper echelons on the SER's (search engine rankings). We're always consistent on the top 5 of Google, Yahoo, and MSN and for some reason, our ranking has dipped immensely. We're barely now inside the top 50 of the most powerful of the aforementioned sites (go figure that out).



If our ranking dips, our sales goes down with it. And if our sales would go down, everything else goes down as well.

C'est la vie. Joyeux Noël et une nouvelle année heureuse.

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I had a strange dream a few nights ago (Thursday night to be exact).

I was extracting some 9-12 teeth on myself! My gums felt itchy and they were bleeding and I just took all of them off. I did not mind what was happening then because I thought all of those teeth would grow again eventually.

I knew there were 9-12 teeth on my palm because I counted all of them. By the way, I also had small cloves of garlic on my palm and they looked also a lot like my extracted teeth.



A friend told me that extracted teeth meant death. Although I'm not superstitious and I believe that we are governed by our own choices and not by some stellar or planetary control, I thought about what my friend told me for a while.

An impression came upon me and it said that death does not signify end of mortality alone. It could also mean problems and hardships. Could it be another 9-12 years or 9-12 months of hardships?!

I also thought about the garlic. For me though, I always considered garlic as something that lowers and fights off bad cholesterol and high blood pressure. Could the cloves of small garlic be the neutralizers to my hardships?! Or are they the answers to them per se?!

I studied all of those things over and here's what I have concluded. I know the Holy Spirit gives me this comforting feeling and here's how I interpret that dream, in bullet form:
* The extracted teeth meant more hardships and more problems
* The garlic meant that eventhough I would experience those hardships, they (garlic) were there to give my life a balance.
* Garlic does not smell good on a person. That balance and neutralizer to my problem does not necessarily look or smell pleasing to me but they were things that God gave me.

There you go.

I just so love everyone, in a platonic way though.

Have a blasting weekend!

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I'm back with my guessing game again!

One of these featured skylines would be Miami and Panama City, Panama.

Which is which?!

Does this look Miami to you?



Or the other one?




everyone, TAKE YOUR FREAKING PICK!

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even the dolls have been put into an agreeance.

Burma should be freed from ruthless junta rule.
Free Aung San Suu Kyi.
Heaven's sakes, she's a woman.
Uhm, the monks should be given due respect.
Junta just plain sucks.

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Can i be a little bit more personal right now? It's almost Christmas fellas. By the way, I wanna thank all who has been religiously going to my blog. I so appreciate your efforts. You know who you are guys!

It will be the first time for me to blog on a public place. I'm inside an internet cafe and it kinda feels weird to do my blog here. Thank you **** for splashing water on my freaking laptop!

Anyways, this will be a milestone Christmas for me. But why the hell it would be a milestone?

Here are my reasons:

1. This will be my first Christmas with my family in four years. Talk about some reunion!
2. This is the first Christmas that i would feel broke. Like i'm serious. My family's business is into some rough times and it just sucks. I'm talking about some major bankruptcy issues in here and i'm talking about seven digits here!
3. I've been trying my best to avoid some relatives because of this family problem we have. You know how it's like when money and GREED gets in the way of family relations?!
4. I'll be left alone lonely this Christmas. Someone's leaving me. It sucks man. It effing sucks. Big time.

Man, the bad sides have outweighed the lone, positive one! Like what my aunt told me, let's be united as a family, even for just one day.

Man, that's Christmas.

The Savior's celebrated birth date has got some serious magic!

Worry not, I'll be celebrating Christmas with a smile on my face. But I won't be promising you that there won't be a tear that would trickle down my lonely face.

Merry Christmas. Let's all be happy. That's the reason of the season.

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He definitely is the country's most celebrated, most influential, most admired and most popular sports figure in the country today. He could even be the most popular Bisaya right now. Definitely, he is the most well-known of all Mindanaoans as of late.

He can possibly unite the country even just for 12 rounds (or even less). Inspire young men, both from the academe and of the sidewalk, to aspire for excellence and prosperity in their lives.

This former baker's humble helper has certainly a story that has touched some hearts and lives of all those that has got to read his story.

Here's the anticlimax: What's with him that I have learned to hate him?

number 01. BECAUSE HE WAS SO GULLIBLE TO ENTER POLITICS. You gotta admit that he was a laughing stock when he ran for the Philippine Congress and failed to do so. I don't want to sound discriminating, but you gotta know the know-hows first! A great boxer knows that he needs extensive training to beat his opponent. He should have thought about it first when he ran for the Congress.

number 02. HE'S ACTUALLY MAKING MOVIES! He, together with Filipina actress Ara Mina have entered the Metro Manila Film Festival a few weeks from now. Can he concentrate on boxing instead?

number 03. HE KEEPS ON SAYING THAT HE DOESN'T GET TIRED WHENEVER HE WAS BEING BEATEN UP BY HIS OPPONENTS, SAYING THAT HE WAS CLINGING ONTO THE FIGHT BECAUSE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE. I don't question his intentions, but the fact that you say it all the time makes it sound too jaded. Sounded like a politician to me too!

number 04. HIS OVERCONFIDENCE IS KILLING ME!. Everyone knows his darn so good but he can be over the top. For real.

number 05. TOO MUCH PRIDE, I guess? It's great to confident. It's great to be strong-willed and feisty. His is just making some Filipinos turn away from him.

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Here's our Manila icons!


Manila Cathedral

Erected on 1578, this is actually the sixth version of the cathedral. After countless natural disasters plus the Second World War, the Manila Cathedral still stands as the ecclesiastical seat of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines.


Manila Central Post Office

The grandest of all neo-classical buildings in the entire metro. Enough said.


GT Tower

Manila's most iconic skyscraper. Every other Makati skyscraper pales in comparison with this edgy building. If it's only a supertall, it would have been more iconic.


CCP Theatre

Before the Esplanade, this was Southeast Asia's most beautiful culture and arts center. Modernism at its finest. When I say modern, i didn't mean futuristic, or space age-y.


Rizal Monument

It's like, "What is Manila without Rizal Monument?!"

The Greatest Malay the world had produced (according to Dr. Mahatir Mohammad, BTW)and his century-old monument is definitely M-A-N-I-L-A.


take your pick!

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Last night, I watched the 3rd episode of the Amazing Race Asia and was so thrilled to find out that Marc and Rovilson, one of the two Filipino teams were still the first team to arrive. I just wish they'd win the entire race!

I'm such a sucker for the Amazing Race. I actually both love the US and the Asian versions. I'm not gonna be comparing Allan and Phil's hosting styles but let me present to you guys my favorite contestants to have joined both the Amazing Race (US) and the Amazing Race Asia.

01. MARC AND ROVILSON. Since I made mention of them, i'd most likely feature them first. Never been beyond the top 2 out of all the episodes this season so far, plus they come from my native country are enough reasons to root for them this year. FYI, I also like Paula and Natasha from Thailand.

02. ANDREW AND SYEON. I was really, really rooting for them last year! They only faltered on THAT very last episode. Too bad, they didn't ask for directions.

03. DUSTIN AND KANDICE. These two beauty queens really knew what it was to play in a competition. They're both cunning, smart, hot, and competitive. They really scared the balls out of their guy co-competitors.

04. ERWIN AND GODWIN. These two were just too kind. They should have at least made it to the top 4 if not for the 'Bamas.

05. FLO AND ZACH. The winners of Season 3. Just give me one episode that Flo didn't whine, shout, and cry. Just one heck-of-an-episode.

enjoy!

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This is the second installment on the West Indies vs. East Indies series of competitions.
What I would like to feature right now are two of the most tourist-popular destinations around the globe- Costa Rica and Thailand.
However, Thailand also has Phuket, which I would like to pit against other beach destinations from the Carribean (Cancun or the Cayman Islands perhaps?!). So for now, I will feature Krabi, also a top beach destination in Thailand.
However, Costa Rica real estate would not want to be outdone either, as the country is an emerging popular luxury tourist destination.
Enjoy both pictures and judge for yourself which one's better!

KRABI



COSTA RICA

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It will be the battle of the two most prolific and most vibrant groups of islands the whole world could offer! IT'S THE EAST INDIES PITTING UP WITH THE BEST FROM THE WEST INDIES. It's the Atlantic against the Pacific, Carribean Sea against South China Sea.

For starters, we'll be comparing the Grand Bahama from Langkawi Island of Malaysia.

Who has the better beaches?!

Vote for your pick!!!


the Grand Bahama


and Langkawi (Malaysia)

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the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR

IF THERE'S ONE CAR THAT BEST FITS MY TO-DROOL-FOR CATEGORY, THIS IS JUST IT!

Don't you think this auto parts is so to DIE FOR?!?!?!

This supercar (more like a super-duper, actually), also breeds exclusivity. This Anglo-German demigod-of-a-car is produced only 500 times in a year.

And yeah, this autogod comes in a budget price too! For only US$450,OOO?! Who wouldn't hesitate to buy one?!?!?!

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from left to right: Hong Kong temple, Tokyo temple, Manila temple, and Seoul temple.


Philippines has the most number of Latter-day Saints or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons in the whole of Asia and Oceania regions with memberships close to 600,000.
Other Asia-Oceania countries with significant numbers would be Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.
You might be asking why the heck would I make a post about this church...well, after the past couple of days of being so stressed with life (school, work, volunteer teaching, and all that other what-have-you's), I think it is time for me to showcase my biggest and most effective "super charger", my temple.
Manila has it on Temple Drive, White Plains, Quezon City. It is on that place wherein I can get the most rejuvenation and refreshing I could get from more than anything else in this world.
People from different faiths have their own personal sanctuaries. This one's mine though.
For me and to the 12 million other latter-day Saints, this is our heaven on earth.

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FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS AN OPINIONATED POST. I do not wish to offend or disappoint anyone with this entry.
I'm just so tired of all the hindrances to my country's development. Of course, everyone would have different opinions and solutions to the national problem. Others would blame the national situation, others would blame the President herself, and others to something else.
See, all of us see different sides of the story. On my viewpoint though, I see that unity is what the Philippines really needed.
Imagine a Philippines without these things. I'm sure my country would such be a better place to live at.

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Can we all stop the bickering?! Somewhere in Makati right now, some Magdalo and other effing people are trying to create some buzz, calling PGMA to step down.
Their main effin' reason? They claim that the country desperately needs a change in leadership.

WELL HERE'S MY REPLY TO THEM ALL!!!!! Change in leadership is IS SO NOT THE SOLUTIONto the problems our country is experiencing!

WHAT THE COUNTRY DESPERATELY NEEDS IS UNITY. JUST PLAIN AND SIMPLE UNITY.

that's it. i'm so tired of all the bickering.

sorry, that's my effing rant.

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We got a few weeks left before the Christmas.
The birth of Jesus Christ has been celebrated all over the Christian world. It is not just the birth of the Savior that has made this day special, this day for some reason has made every person become very happy.
I was just curious on how Christmas has been spent on predominantly non-Christian countries (most of Asia, btw). So I looked for non-Christian cities on the net and here's what I have found. I got five of them though. Enjoy these pictures!

Bangkok (95% Theravada Buddhist)


Hong Kong (90% Buddhist)


Tokyo (84% Shinto and Buddhist)


Kuala Lumpur (60.4% Moslem, 19.2% Buddhist)


Karachi (96% Moslem)


Christmas is less than four weeks away. That's a great cause for celebration! Advanced Merry Christmas to you all!

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Just when you thought Sudan's on earth. You better think again.



Save Darfur. Inhumanity's ain't worth it.

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I tried to deviate a little bit from posting articles about sceneries, skylines, and comparisons of different places on earth.
I watched the 3 city-Federer/Sampras tennis matches during the weekend. Those 3 matches were the bomb! But anyway, that’s not the reason why I will be blogging right now.
Since I was in the spirit of making people guess which city is which and make people compare both, I might as well do it again.
From the 1500’s up until 1898, my country has been under the Spanish rule. Though we might have lost our Hispanic-ness to a certain extent, still, our streets and cities still offer a glimpse of that Latin past.
I’ll be showing you pictures of both Manila and Madrid some one hundred years ago.
Which is Manila?



and which is Madrid?



Take your guess guys! Enjoy!

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Reasons are aplenty on why I chose to do blogging.
Here are my reasons (I don't how many would this be!):

1. I create my own world through my blog
2. I always wanted to have my own page that I don't have to pay for web hosting
3. Pre-designed templates are heaven sent, a great way to express myself
4. I make new friends and acquaintances (like I'm serious)
5. I can express myself freely here, to talk about current events, personal stuff and other things online and to be read by others is an honor
6. I don't know any more, I guess I'm just PLAIN ADDICTED TO IT!

what are your reasons for blogging amigos?
Send in your answers through mu comments page!

Thanks friends! Enjoy your life! :)

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This country is a literal study of contrasts.
They have one of the driest deserts on earth...

They have geysers aplenty too...

Some of the most chic metropolises on the planet also(it looks a little bit like London for me)

They also have one of the most grand glacial systems found on earth

And one of the most gorgeous island getaways


What country could this be? Send in your answers!

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This will be in answer to a previous blog that was posted by one of our blogger friends, Pisanu of Bi.S.E.A.N regarding the tourism slogans of Southeast Asian countries. In fairness to what he has written, I don’t think that the Philippine Tourism TV Ad is not really that visible comparing it to Thailand’s and Malaysia’s tourism ads.
This new Filipino Tourism TV Ad that I got to watch recently has captured my corazon. This new tourism ad had captured the Filipino heart and warmth that had won the world over.
Showing what Pinoy Christmas and Families are all about, here’s the video.

I felt great after watching the video. It’s really not the sceneries that the video was all about. It is about coming home to your family, especially for the holidays.
Great job Department of Tourism! How I would want to work for you in the future!!!!!!!

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I watched the AMA’s (American Music Awards) the other night. Of course, it was a delayed telecast. If we had live telecast to Manila from LA, I would have happened to watch the show at around 11am Manila time.
Of course, there was Pinoy Pride going on as I saw Nicole Scherzinger (I hope the spelling’s right) sang with Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. Since I was glancing through different channels (I was also watching Heroes Season 2 and the Tennis Masters Cup finals), I wasn’t sure if Apl.de.Ap was there to perform as well.
Anyways, after I surfed towards the AMA’s again, I saw Beyonce and some country duo (the Sugarland) singing “Irreplaceable” bluegrass version! Imagine tight-fitting jeans, leather jackets, long-sleeved checkered shirts, and was there harmonica in the background too?!
Here’s the video…

I thought the performance was fine though. Whatcha think?! Send in your comments mi amigos!

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I’m gonna be posting a new set of skyline pictures.
Throughout Asia, only two skylines have lorded it over the region, its Hong Kong and Singapore. Some might protest, saying why Tokyo was not mentioned. Well, Tokyo and Seoul don’t have singular CBD’s (Central Business District) pretty much like Bangkok and Manila, their CBD’s are scattered all throughout each cities’ metropolises.
Shanghai and Beijing on the other hand are not yet at par with both Hong Kong and Singapore.
Hong Kong and Singapore are actually products at contrasts. Singapore, with the help of Lee Kuan Yew, was a product of effective urban planning while Hong Kong has emerged out of sheer development and sprawl.
I’m not gonna make you guess which is which! But I’m gonna ask which do you think has the better skyline.
Hong Kong?!

Or Singapore?! 

Take your pick guys!!!!!!!

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Wowee! I never thought that my cityscapes and landscapes posts would attract attention to other bloggers! Especially to fellow Pinoys and to other Asians! This is a personal blog and I have the right to post whatever the heck it is that I wanna post in here. 
If I only have powers to do all that I wanna do in life, I would have wanted to work in the tourism industry. You see, our country, and the region surrounding us boasts of some of the bestest natural attractions that the world could offer.
Europeans got so engrossed to this fact that they hurried to explore and exploit our natural resources.
For example, Malacca (or Melaka as the Malays would refer to it) is a perfect example to this. Being a sultanate in the 13th century, this strategically-placed sultanate was placed under Portugese, Dutch, British, and Japanese control before achieving independence with the rest of Malaysia in 1957.
Another testament to this is Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon, its original name. Once the premier city of the French Indochina, this Vietnamese city had French architecture written all over its city borders.
Again, with my guessing game, which is which?!
Picture number one?

Or picture number two?

Enjoy! And keep those comments coming!