Paro International Airport, Bhutan

Paro International Airport, Bhutan

Posted by roma on July 12, 2014 in Airports, Airports and Airlines, Bhutan, Paro, Paro Bhutan, Paro International Airport,

I love taking photos of almost everything. And you might find me posting a lot of  pictures with a few words. Because sometimes its hard to describe the experience so I try to say it by photos. This is one of those times.

Arriving at Paro International Airport, in Bhutan, I was in awe when we landed and saw the airport facade. Oh my God.

Look at all these architectural details.

And all these paint jobs in the interior.

Photos of the Kings hang on the wall

Oh my God

The design all throughout the airport

I cannot say much, but all of the buildings and structures in Bhutan are just so breathtaking. Every single building in Bhutan is built this way and and has the same architectural details. Every single one of them. Breathtaking.

See more of Bhutan here.

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Good Morning Vietnam!

Good Morning Vietnam!

Posted by roma on July 30, 2013 in Airports and Airlines, Ben Thanh Market, Christian Louboutin, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater, Jollibee in Vietnam, Nha Hang Vietnam House, Saigon, Saigon Opera House, Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Vietnam,

We landed at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport at Ho Chi Minh City at around 1 AM, Vietnam time.

At Tan Son Nhat International Airport

We were fetched by my sister's friend Tops, who has been living in Vietnam for three years, so we can go to the Domestic Airport to pick up my sister who was coming from Hanoi.

Tan Son Nhat Domestic Airport

The domestic airport looks like one of our provincial airports. It's much smaller, the airport canteen is closed, and disorganized. Tops said some airlines that land here are notoriously late. He was proven right because my sister's flight was delayed by more than 40 minutes.

When we were all complete (me, my sister and my brother-in-law), Tops took us to his apartment to rest a while.

I was up at seven in the morning and had the first glimpse of Vietnam at daylight. 

Good Morning Vietnam!

It looks a lot like Manila -- somewhere between Ortigas and Abad Santos, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

So we prepared to go out to see more of Vietnam. 

We first stopped by Manila Water's office, which was about 50 meters away from Tops' apartment, the reason why my sister has friends living in Vietnam. 

Trivia: Manila Water in Vietnam can actually be called Saigon Water.

After a short tour at the office, we headed to the town proper and saw a big Jollibee store on our way!

If I tell you that this is in Vietnam, would you believe me? Haha.

First thing we did was, of course, exchange for Vietnam Dong (VND). Everyone is an instant millionaire here.

July 18, 2013. 100 USD = 2.140M VND

We exchanged money at a jewelry shop near Ben Thanh Market. Then walked a few blocks to see the Saigon Opera House (Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater), from afar. We did not go near or inside -- maybe because my sister's friends were already too hungry.

My sister Lyn and he hubby Ones

The Opera House: Đồng Khởi, Bến Nghé, District 1  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam +84 8 3829 9976

We walked a little more and saw this shop, among other shops, lined up in the street.

Ate Lyn and her friend Jah decided to have their picture taken
in front of a Christian Louboutin shop.

They took this time for photo-op because they said, it's not everyday that you see a Christian Louboutin shop, especially in small streets like this one.

After a few more minutes of walking, we have finally reached our destination for our first taste of Saigon. 

Nha Hang Vietnam House

The Nha Hang Vietnam House is one of the most popular restaurants in Saigon. It's not very expensive to dine here but they said Former President Cory Aquino and Former US President George Bush Sr. ate here when they visited Vietnam. Read more about Nha Hang Vietnam House here.

Nha Hang Vietnam House:

93 Đồng Khởi, Bến Nghé  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
+84 8 3829 1623

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Flight to Singapore via Clark Freeport

Flight to Singapore via Clark Freeport

Posted by roma on December 10, 2008 in Airports, Airports and Airlines, Clark, Clark Freeport Zone, Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, DMIA,

We booked tickets early (3 months early) and bought it online at cebupacificair.com, it is user friendly and will notify you of flight changes (ours was changed to 30 minutes later, and I was notified around a month before the flight date). Departure is at the Clark Freeport AKA Diosdado Macapagal International Airport. It was a bit hard to find information about this airport, or how to get there. DMIA has its own website, but it is not fully functional yet.

How To Get To Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA)

You can easily get to DMIA via Philtranco buses located at the Megamall Building A in Ortigas, Pasig City. Philtranco has a website that says their latest trip is at 3PM but if you call their office, you can confirm the schedule. We reserved for a 4PM trip. It is hassle-free and has no stop overs. The trip is around three hours.

The Philtranco driver and collector were polite. They gladly answered to our inquiries regarding trips back to Manila from the DMIA. They said that there are buses for each arriving flight (ours was at 420 AM), so no worries.

In Diosdado Macapagal International Airport

In DMIA, you’ll easily see the departure gate. But don’t forget to ask the guard at the entrance where you should go first, because you have to pay the travel tax first (Php 1620.00) and the terminal fee (Php 600.00). 

Airport food is pricey at Php 180.00 a meal. I also find the terminal fee costly because the NAIA Terminal 3 is much better (bigger, cleaner, more friendly) and only collects P200 terminal fee.

There is a lot of walking before you finally get to the final boarding area, and once you are inside, you cannot go out. There is no smoking area, and there is only one restaurant for a decent meal (that is pricey). 

Some personnel are snobs too. So the DMIA is not getting a good review from me.

Going Back To Manila

We have acquired a lot of things from Ikea and other souvenirs from Singapore, so we hired a Department of Tourism (DOT) line cab. These are FX and sedan types of services – depending on the number of baggage you carry. 

We were four people with a total of 13 baggage (bags, luggages, paper bags) so they gave us an FX type. Ticketing of the DOT line cabs are at the arrival area. We paid P3,500 for the ride. Which is actually worth it, though it almost tripled our fare per head, because we were able to stop over at Mcdonald’s for breakfast. The driver was also nice and polite.

* for other questions that you think I can answer, don’t hesitate to leave a comment ☺

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