For first-timers in Makati

August 6, 2010 at 1:52 pm | Posted in Asia, Philippines | 4 Comments
Tags: travel, Philippines, first-time travel, Greenbelt, blogsherpa, culture, business, Makati City, Glorietta, Ayala Center, Filipinas Heritage Library, urban, modern, skyscrapers, commercial business district, Shangri-la Hotel

I was a kid when I first stepped on the urban jungle of Makati. At that time, I gazed at the towering buildings that loomed along its paved avenues.

Fast forward to now, when I’m no longer a traveler to this place, since I have officially made it my home these recent years (I voted in Makati during the last national elections.) A few days ago, I visited our local barangay (community) center and the lady handed me out a brochure of the city to give out to friends.

The brochure had a “visit MAKATI” on its cover along with a list of attractions one can find in the city. You can find more information about the city at www.makati.gov.ph.

For many, Makati is where office goers converge during the day. It is the prime commercial business district of the Philippines where skyscrapers appear like mushrooms left and right. Beautiful malls and parks also make up the face of the city while posh villages, restaurants, and hotels also dot the landscape.

photo by Claire Algarme

But there’s more to Makati than just the glass structures and populated parking lots. I’ll share some sites listed in the brochure which I have visited.

1.) Guadalupe Ruins

I have attended a friend’s wedding in this centuries-old church, which is more known as the Nuestra Se?ora de Gracia Church. It was described in the brochure as “Doric architecture with massive buttresses to support its vault of hewn stones taken from the still visible but extinct Guadalupe quarry. Ferry from ornamentations, its walls are solid and stable and built in such a way that they still stand today as when the church was completed in 1629.”

What made it more enigmatic is its steps that provide a historical picture of old Spanish churches that are built higher than any structure in the area.

2.) The Filipinas Heritage Library

I love this place. Every time I pass by this place, I always ask my friends, “do you know that this used to be an airport?” It wasn’t mentioned in the brochure but that’s what I know about this tiny two-storey library with a basement. When Makati was a marshland, the Filipinas Heritage Library, used to be the Nielsen Tower, was the only visible building in this area.

Now, it is a repository of knowledge that houses CD-ROMs, publications, and even art works. Special events, like wedding reception, press launches, and advocacy presentations, are also be held at the Library.

3.) Ayala Museum

I first entered the newly renovated Ayala Museum through a mini-field trip my officemates and I made there. It was a modern museum that housed a lot of art works. But what really Ayala Museum is known for is its dioramas featuring the history of the Philippines. I’ve seen it when I visited the old Ayala Museum and I’m glad it’s still there.

4.) Ayala Triangle

If the Filipinas Heritage Library was once an airport, the Ayala Avenue, Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, which make up the Ayala Triangle, were its runways. Now, the three points in these triangles have the statues of heroes: Ninoy Aquino, Gabriela Silang, and Pio del Pilar.

5.) Greenbelt Park

The greens! The flowing water! This small oasis is a welcome respite in the middle of the urban jungle. Most of all, the Greenbelt Chapel in the middle of the park seems to float and has become a sanctuary for many.

6.) Makati Park and Garden

Built along the Pasig River, the Makati Park and Garden has been a venue for all kinds of occasion. It is where children can run around and adults can enjoy a stroll.

7.) Makati Coliseum

Home of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL), I have entered the Makati Coliseum when we had partnerships with the PBL. The country’s professional basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), often hold court here.

photo by Claire Algarme

8.) Ayala Center

Malls, restaurants, department stores, hotels – all these make up the entire Ayala Center. And all these are all connected by bridgeways. There’s SM Makati, Glorietta, Landmark, and Greenbelt. You can also find Shangri-la Makati, Hotel Intercon, and Ascott. Everything you need, you’ll find it in Ayala Center.

9.) Rockwell Center

Another emerging community in Makati is the Rockwell Center which has the Powerplant Mall, the condominiums, and the corporate buildings. It is considered an upscale shopping place as most who visit the mall are those living nearby. It is also a stone’s throne away from the Bel-air Village.

photo by Claire Algarme

In the list, only two places were there that I haven’t visited yet. These are Saints Peter and Paul Church and Museo ng Makati. However, the brochure has missed out some great places one can find in this city, like:

1.) Thrift Shops in Bangkal

Evangelista is a long stretch of street that has shops selling car parts. But a little part of this street has rows of thrift shops selling antique items and other things you wouldn’t usually find in malls.

From furniture to trinkets, there are great finds in these thrift shops. Also, bring along your bargaining skills and you might get a good price for the items you purchase.

2.) Watering holes like Fat Michael’s Place, You Jie Xiao Chao, and Som’s

I’ve written about them. You can find them in my post on Manila’s hole-in-the-wall eateries.

3.) Philippine Daily Inquirer

Students often take an educational trip in the Philippine Daily Inquirer to learn how newspapers are published nowadays. They have advanced technology when it comes to printing the news. The blue building is near the Makati Coliseum and often opens its doors on certain weekends to street children for reading sessions handled by personalities.

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Internet Connection for First-time Travelers

August 20, 2010 at 1:01 pm | Posted in Asia, Business travel, China, Philippines, Vietnam | 4 Comments
Tags: travel, first-time travel, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, China, blogsherpa, blog carnival, firewall, internet access, lonely planet

The advent of technology has kept people on the go to be in touch with the rest of the world wherever they may be. It’s now an added bonus but it can also be a distraction to your journey. For first-time travelers wanting to be constantly connected, you will not only concern yourself with your itinerary and absorbing the newness of the place you visit but also how to get the excitement of your travel across the worldwide web.

Ever since I owned an Asus EeePC, there was no stopping me from getting on my mails and hitting the social network sites. Sure, it can be a bit of a hassle when you’re tired and all dusty, but it can also become a welcome respite to all the nitty-gritty details of travels. Besides, I can instantly upload my photos for my friends to see and update my blog every now and then.

Airports are the best place to find a wi-fi connection. I was sitting in the pre-departure area at the SFO airport waiting for my flight to LA. People were walking past me getting off the plane and going to their gates. A lady was bristly walking when she suddenly stopped to complement me of my cute laptop.

When I was in Ho Chi Minh City, we stayed in this backpackers’ inn which was surrounded by many hotels. There wasn’t a wi-fi connection in our inn so I tapped on the available wi-fi at the neighboring hotels. Consider it “stealing” but I think I’ve been getting used to it when I really have the itch to get connected.

Our hotel room in Saigon. Photo by Claire Algarme.

I had this experience while I was at the hotel lobby in Shanghai using one of their computers. Most of the sites were blocked, like Facebook and Twitter. They could at least have a “Welcome to the Great Firewall of China” landing page. I tried to get around it, relying on advises from guidebooks. They said if I can go through a proxy site, I can get to the pages I want to visit. I tried all the proxy sites I knew and were suggested in the guidebooks but to no avail. Resigned, I was content browsing through Yahoo and some Chinese sites that I could not even understand or read.

The hotel lobby in China. Photo by Claire Algarme.

Suddenly, my companion who was also working on the computer beside me asked me for help. He was chatting through the beta version of Yahoo Messenger using Yahoo Mail. “I was sending this message but my friend at the other end told me that all he received were Chinese characters. But my messages looked pretty normal to me.” It seems there was an automatic translation, which we couldn’t fathom or comprehend. We tried to check which button to click but everything was in Chinese as well. Resigned, we left it up to the other person to decipher what my friend has written.

But if I don’t get to access the web during my travels, I feel content anyway because then I have every reason to look forward to my office desk instead of sulking for having reached the end of my vacation. So, if I’m unreachable for a few days or weeks, be sure that I’ll make up for lost time from my internet absence when I get back home.

This article is a part of the Lonely Planet blogsherpa blog carnival on Internet Connections hosted by Jason of AlpacaSuitcase. Visit this site (the carnival will be up on August 25) for more articles belonging to this carnival.

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First-time Travels of Travel Bloggers

September 8, 2010 at 10:22 am | Posted in Asia, Europe, Lebanon, Mexico, North America, Philippines, Solo travel, South Korea, Thailand, US, World travel | 13 Comments
Tags: travel, Philippines, first-time travel, Thailand, Malaysia, blogsherpa, Europe, US, United States, Amtrak, spain, world travel, blog carnival, train travel, lonely planet, Switzerland, Austria, France, England, South Korea, New Orleans, family travel, Fairbanks, Alaska, Denmark, Cusco, Mexico, Beirut, Lebanon, blogsherpas, Hawaii

Jetsetters and seasoned travelers may be “experts on the road” but they also started out learning the ropes of traveling. They now have something to advice on the subject because they have a rich resource of firsthand travel experiences. Some of them, when they were newbie travelers, also listened from those who were ahead of them in the traveling landscape.

I may be able to easily give instructions to taxi drivers or haggle with vendors in Jakarta because I lived there for seven months, but I also struggled during my first weeks trying to decipher the map and learning the local language by myself. I can roam around Bangkok or Hong Kong unguided because I have visited these cities more than once, yet I also shamelessly asked for directions during my first visit there. Although I credit travel books and websites for pointing me to the right direction, my experience on the ground has provided me with more insights any literature could give. Dealing up-close with the locals and getting lost have made me street-smart, something one does not learn just by researching and armchair traveling.

"Do not step on the red carpet." That's what I learned in my first trip in Bangkok.

My first trip outside of my home country, the Philippines, was in Thailand. Friends shared my excitement as they gave me lists of tips and places to visit. I was excited on what was in store for me at my destination that I never realized the more practical things to do in embarking on a journey, like packing lightly, paying the travel tax, getting in line at the immigration, exchanging my local currency into US dollars and Thai baht, etc. Like in any other Asian city, bargaining is a skill a traveler should learn when shopping in Bangkok. We visited the Royal Palace and there was a special occasion at that time. I accidentally stepped on the red carpet reserved only for the King and his entourage that a guard scolded me for doing so. Now, I’m more careful whenever I visit a palace or a temple that I don’t break any of their rules or disrespect any of their traditions.

The Lonely Planet blogsherpas walk down memory lane as they share stories of their first-time travels outside of their home country or their innocence when they first stepped into a foreign land. Who would ever think that these travel bloggers also had their moments when they first boarded a plane or when they finally made that big leap out of the comforts of their home? I feel privileged to host this blog carnival, which gives us a glimpse of the joy, frustration, fears, and milestones of the first-time travels our blogsherpas made.

Quillcards team David Bennett and Tamara Colloff-Bennett have their share of their travel experiences. It was a European adventure for David on his First-Time Travel Off the Map when he joined a school trip abroad, which later led him to more trips to other countries outside of his home.

Barcelona, from the Quillcards website.

“Our journey that summer took us through Switzerland and Austria, down the length of Italy, and back up through France. We got lessons in hitchhiking etiquette in Austria and got sunburned like lobsters in Genoa. We changed the course of our holiday and for me it changed the course of my life.”

Tamara, on her article Time Travels In the Real World, instantly thinks of the guitar belonging to the elder sister of her friend Judy, named Marilyn, whenever the topic of traveling overseas comes up. The Spanish songs Marilyn sang while strumming the guitar had inspired her to travel. She narrated her first trip from coast to coast until she finally went outside the US territories and beyond America towards the continents of Europe and Asia.

“However, the romance of traveling around ‘the Continent’ then never left me: England, Holland, Italy, Spain some years later – I adored the architecture, the foreignness of the people, the sheer differentness of it all. I was also influenced as well by my parents who traveled to so many places. They brought back mementos from New Zealand, Turkey, Romania, and many other places. I salivated when I heard about their travels, and I vowed that I too would hear more foreign tongues and interact with other peoples and tread on the soil of their countries.”

Photo taken from Lex Paradise's blog site.

Lex, of Lex Paradise, is from Malaysia. Visiting Korea for the first time brought a different thrill to him. In fact, he documented his first day in this country.? From the moment their plane touched down in Korea, Lex showed the things he saw and experienced in this foreign land.

“At last, I manage to post the 1st day that I step on the Korea ground!! It was really amazing, that time I really still can’t believe that I was in Korea!! It was like a dream!!!”

Anne-Sophie, of Sophie’s World, is based in Norway and has lived in the US and in New Zealand. She shares how time has changed, especially in terms of traveling: her daughter took her first trip when she was 11 weeks old while Anne-Sophie’s ventured on her very own first trip abroad when she was already 11 years old.

“Back in the 70s, Mum took my brother and me to New Orleans to a visit her cousin – Aunt Hanna, we called her – who had emigrated and made tons of money. It was quite the journey, involving 4 different planes and 5 airports. We switched planes in Copenhagen, New York’s JFK and in Atlanta, Georgia. But I didn’t mind one bit. I was 11, my brother was 9 and neither of us had ever been on a plane before. Nor had Mum. In retrospect, I see she deserves some credit – admiration, even – for setting out on such a long, complicated journey with two raucous kids and no travelling experience.”

Photo taken from Indian Bazaars' blog site.

On her post The Quiet Train, Kiran, of Indian Bazaars, shared that she has never experienced boarding a quiet train until her first time travel outside of India. Her Amtrak ride in the US reminded me of my very own experience. But her Amtrak travel experience brought to her memories of traveling by train back in her home country and seen the differences in train travel in both countries.

“I looked out of the window as the train pulled into a station and wished people wouldn’t queue up to enter the train, wished there would be more than the five people that I saw. I thought then of the Indian train and all its chaos. I wanted to be home again – just to listen to familiar sounds of ‘chai, chai’ with the vendor stopping by the window to sell a cup of steaming hot tea or a fruit juice.”

Alaska, taken from the Travelogged site.

Liz, of Travelogged, felt disoriented when she first arrived in Alaska. Since she left New York at over an hour past noon and traveled for about 14 hours, she was prepared for nighttime, but not Alaska. Her first-time travel to this US State has brought many surprises to her.

“Arriving in Fairbanks, Alaska, was one of the strangest arrivals I’ve ever experienced. There was nothing wrong with the landing – it was a smooth (if cramped) flight on Frontier from Denver. But when I arrived at 9:37pm on time to the minute (OK, that was also a little strange), it was just so incredibly bright! I felt as if I had arrived somewhere in the morning on a red-eye flight. It was that identical disoriented, groggy feeling, and yet it was nighttime.”

A photo of Paris taken by Jennifer of The Turkish Life.

Jennifer, of The Turkish Life, left her San Francisco home for a great two-week European escapade. She did her solo travel in an American backpacker style which brought her colorful travel memories, like eating Indonesian food for the first time while she was in Amsterdam.

“I was 23 years old and being laid off from my second job in less than a year. Instead of calling my mother, my best friend, or my boyfriend for a sympathetic ear, I picked up the phone and dialed a travel agent. I was planning my first trip to Europe, a visit with my then-boyfriend to see his family in England and Denmark, and with those pesky limits on vacation days suddenly a non-issue, I wanted more time. I had my passport, my Western Europe guidebook, my Eurorail pass, a kabillion rolls of film, and a borrowed backpack that was way too big for me. I was ready.”

Swimming practice. Photo taken from the Alpaca Suitcase site.

Jason, of Alpaca Suitcase, recounted the first swimming practice for his daughter while living in Cusco. Being in a different place is an adjustment, especially to children. The language may sound strange and the need to be accepted is inevitable. At the end of the practice night, Jason was glad to see his daughter smile.

“While living in Cusco both of our kids had settled into a regular routine with the Cusco Swim Team. Three to four times per week at 6:45 p.m. they’d stroll in to the Piscina Municipal de Wanchaq and jump right in with the other swimmers. I’m sometimes amazed at how easy they blend in. I have to remember, however, that the first practice was very difficult for my 12-year old daughter.

My daughter and I came down to Cusco 6 weeks before my wife and son (my son wanted to graduate from middle school), so she was the sibling that would pave the way for the other.”

Photo taken from the Ginger Beirut blog site.

Georgia, of Ginger Beirut, grew up in England and moved to countries like France, and later, Lebanon. In her post, she states that people, depending on whether they are tourists, expats, or immigrants, may have varying perspectives on Lebanon, which she believes has a thousand faces. She even shared an old joke, which now takes a whole new dimension to her as she lives as an expatriate in Beirut.

“The Lebanon has a thousand faces. On my first brief visit, it could have very well deceived me. I might have left my caring, protective hosts believing that Lebanon was all about dinner parties, warm hospitality, excellent food. Or I might have stayed indoors for two weeks, on the phone to concerned family and friends, listening from the balcony as gun battles took half the city hostage, and come away with the impression that Lebanon was not for tourism, let alone for settling.

But it didn’t. After nearly a year, I can attest that for that short stay, Lebanon was true to its diversity.”

Her first travel in Hawaii. Photo taken from Barefoot Inked site.

Coming from a family of travelers, Sash, of Barefoot Inked, was used to traveling during her childhood. But after hibernating from all those trips across the world, she was able to set foot again outside of her home country but, this time, on her own. Read how her first solo travel has brought her challenges along the way, which only intensified her love for traveling.

“I landed in Hawaii, it was my first stop on a long journey of self discovery – a young adult still very much a child, venturing out into the world to find clarity and experience the world outside my backyard. But as exciting and thrilling as solo travel is, particularly your very fist time, it is terrifying and scary and pretty daunting too.”

“And so began a love with travel… there have been many mishaps along the way… but every one is an adventure. Every hiccup in a well planned trip has?led to something more wonderful than could have ever been planned for…”

For me, a place takes in a different kind of image when I see it for the first time. Everything seems too interesting that I’ve always wanted to preserve the memory. Often times, I refuse to doze off to sleep as I look out the window of my moving vehicle, afraid that the moment would just pass me by. That’s why I take delight in remembering my first visits to a particular place, absorbing all I see, feel, smell, hear and taste like an innocent babe. The novelty of the place drives me to go out and travel to more destinations because once I come back to the same place, it will be a totally different experience once again.

So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and hit the road! And enjoy your first trip to that place you have always wanted to visit.

The previous blog carnival on Love On The Road was hosted by Sash at Barefoot Inked, and our next Blog Carnival is on the topic of Favorite Place on Earth hosted by Anne-Sophie from Sophie’s World.?Take delight in the colorful stories of our Lonely Planet Blogsherpas as they share their travel experiences with us.

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First-time featured in SITS

August 17, 2010 at 6:23 pm | Posted in Asia, Group travel, Hong Kong, Women travel | 140 Comments
Tags: travel, first-time travel, Hong Kong, China, blogsherpa, adventure, escapism, Lantau, female bond, women travel, SITS

Welcome SITSahs!

It is not everyday that I travel. It is not also everyday that I get featured in SITS.

My SITSahs are those that travel with me in the intricate world of the internet, sharing passions and exchanging a sisterly pat on the back with our comments on blog posts.

I enjoyed visiting sites of SITS bloggers and leaving my thoughts or virtual pat on the back in their comments section. More and more individuals gather through SITS. It was like a crossroads of sort for those who are on their life journey – whether they are moms, sisters, career women, writers, single women, or travelers. True enough, there is something special about female connection.

*****************

In real life, traveling is one of my bonding moments with my girlfriends as we embark on various adventures that bring meaning to an emerging term of “women traveling”. Before, I was used to traveling alone, since most of my trips were for business and not for pleasure.

When I arrived from an almost yearlong assignment in Indonesia, I came to know this set of female friends who share my passion for traveling. Since then, we have been companions in discovering new destinations and exploring a different world apart from our usual daily routine.

But the most memorable of all was my trip to Hong Kong with my elder sister. It was a great bonding opportunity for us. It is but natural for sisters to always quarrel, most especially in our case, with only two years apart and both of us with a competitive streak.

Our Hong Kong trip brought a beautiful memory in our adult life not just as sisters but also as travel buddies. It was my second trip to this city. I won this trip as a raffle prize in my workplace. Although the prize was good for one, I decided to pay extra so I could bring my sister.

Since she was a huge fan of Jet Li and Chinese movies, I brought her to various temples and to Lantau Island where the Giant Buddha is found. We also spent an afternoon enjoying the Ocean Park and visited famous landmarks like Victoria Peak and the Avenue of the Stars. I did our entire itinerary and I enjoyed playing tourist guide to her.

We also had a funny experience during that trip. It was all sunny in Manila when we left and I was expecting the same weather when we get to Hong Kong. Alas, the sun never shone brightly in our four days of stay there. It was all foggy and cold. Since we brought summer clothes, my sister and I had to buy socks, rubber shoes, and jackets to ward off the chilly wind.

It was quite an adventure! Now, my sister asks me when our next trip will be. Well, I’m saving up in the hope of bringing our mom along on our next trip so we could also have a travel bonding with her, especially with our father’s recent passing away.

Having so many women friends and acquaintances, I realized that the warmth of female relationship born out of traveling is made more special if it is shared among family members as well.

My SITS day is August 18. Since I am based here in the Philippines where the sun shines earlier, I have uploaded this post earlier than my scheduled date (for some parts of the globe). Nevertheless, it is a long SITS day for me!

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The Philippine Travel Mart 2010

September 6, 2010 at 1:39 pm | Posted in Group travel, Philippines | 1 Comment
Tags: blogsherpa, dot sec alberto lim, first-time travel, Manila, Philippines, philtoa, travel, travel mart

I always visit the Philippine Travel Expo which is held every February. It’s a long wait for that month so when I learned of the Philippine Travel Mart, which occurred last weekend, I immediately grabbed the opportunity to visit the event.

Photo by Claire Algarme

Organized by the Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA), it was all about the various regions, provinces, and destinations in the Philippines. As I bought my ticket at the counter, I was given two stickers so I can stick on my favorite pavilions. I liked the Central Visayas pavilion, featuring Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Bohol, and Cebu. Of course, as I am from Bacolod City, I visited the Western Visayas booth where my province, Negros Occidental, is located.

Photo by Claire Algarme

Davao brought their products, as well as their Mutya ng Davao, who was a major attraction among the visitors.? Camarines Sur had a colorful booth as it highlighted its beaches, islands, and the water sports complex.

Photo by Claire Algarme

Resorts, hotels, tour operators, and airlines also had their booths set up in the Travel Mart. While going around visiting various booths, I saw a high school classmate and a schoolmate. One works in a hotel in Makati while another is associated with a hotel in Bacolod.

As I was about to leave the venue with a bagful of brochures, maps, and literatures, I heard that the new Department of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim was gracing the event. I waited? for a while to hear him speak. He was delighted to find many people attending the Philippine Travel Mart as our country’s tourism has recently experienced various challenges. With the many Filipinos who trooped to the expo, I also hope that local tourism would give our country a boost it currently needs.

DOT Sec. Lim. Photo by Claire Algarme

With the many beautiful places in the Philippines, I am more than willing to explore my very own country. I hope that others will also find their way to our beautiful beaches and rich cultural sites. As the theme of the Philippine Travel Mart, I can also say “Wow, Philippines! I love the Philippines!”

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First-time Travels of Travel Bloggers

September 8, 2010 at 10:22 am | Posted in Asia, Europe, Lebanon, Mexico, North America, Philippines, Solo travel, South Korea, Thailand, US, World travel | 13 Comments
Tags: travel, Philippines, first-time travel, Thailand, Malaysia, blogsherpa, Europe, US, United States, Amtrak, spain, world travel, blog carnival, train travel, lonely planet, Switzerland, Austria, France, England, South Korea, New Orleans, family travel, Fairbanks, Alaska, Denmark, Cusco, Mexico, Beirut, Lebanon, blogsherpas, Hawaii

Jetsetters and seasoned travelers may be “experts on the road” but they also started out learning the ropes of traveling. They now have something to advice on the subject because they have a rich resource of firsthand travel experiences. Some of them, when they were newbie travelers, also listened from those who were ahead of them in the traveling landscape.

I may be able to easily give instructions to taxi drivers or haggle with vendors in Jakarta because I lived there for seven months, but I also struggled during my first weeks trying to decipher the map and learning the local language by myself. I can roam around Bangkok or Hong Kong unguided because I have visited these cities more than once, yet I also shamelessly asked for directions during my first visit there. Although I credit travel books and websites for pointing me to the right direction, my experience on the ground has provided me with more insights any literature could give. Dealing up-close with the locals and getting lost have made me street-smart, something one does not learn just by researching and armchair traveling.

"Do not step on the red carpet." That's what I learned in my first trip in Bangkok.

My first trip outside of my home country, the Philippines, was in Thailand. Friends shared my excitement as they gave me lists of tips and places to visit. I was excited on what was in store for me at my destination that I never realized the more practical things to do in embarking on a journey, like packing lightly, paying the travel tax, getting in line at the immigration, exchanging my local currency into US dollars and Thai baht, etc. Like in any other Asian city, bargaining is a skill a traveler should learn when shopping in Bangkok. We visited the Royal Palace and there was a special occasion at that time. I accidentally stepped on the red carpet reserved only for the King and his entourage that a guard scolded me for doing so. Now, I’m more careful whenever I visit a palace or a temple that I don’t break any of their rules or disrespect any of their traditions.

The Lonely Planet blogsherpas walk down memory lane as they share stories of their first-time travels outside of their home country or their innocence when they first stepped into a foreign land. Who would ever think that these travel bloggers also had their moments when they first boarded a plane or when they finally made that big leap out of the comforts of their home? I feel privileged to host this blog carnival, which gives us a glimpse of the joy, frustration, fears, and milestones of the first-time travels our blogsherpas made.

Quillcards team David Bennett and Tamara Colloff-Bennett have their share of their travel experiences. It was a European adventure for David on his First-Time Travel Off the Map when he joined a school trip abroad, which later led him to more trips to other countries outside of his home.

Barcelona, from the Quillcards website.

“Our journey that summer took us through Switzerland and Austria, down the length of Italy, and back up through France. We got lessons in hitchhiking etiquette in Austria and got sunburned like lobsters in Genoa. We changed the course of our holiday and for me it changed the course of my life.”

Tamara, on her article Time Travels In the Real World, instantly thinks of the guitar belonging to the elder sister of her friend Judy, named Marilyn, whenever the topic of traveling overseas comes up. The Spanish songs Marilyn sang while strumming the guitar had inspired her to travel. She narrated her first trip from coast to coast until she finally went outside the US territories and beyond America towards the continents of Europe and Asia.

“However, the romance of traveling around ‘the Continent’ then never left me: England, Holland, Italy, Spain some years later – I adored the architecture, the foreignness of the people, the sheer differentness of it all. I was also influenced as well by my parents who traveled to so many places. They brought back mementos from New Zealand, Turkey, Romania, and many other places. I salivated when I heard about their travels, and I vowed that I too would hear more foreign tongues and interact with other peoples and tread on the soil of their countries.”

Photo taken from Lex Paradise's blog site.

Lex, of Lex Paradise, is from Malaysia. Visiting Korea for the first time brought a different thrill to him. In fact, he documented his first day in this country.? From the moment their plane touched down in Korea, Lex showed the things he saw and experienced in this foreign land.

“At last, I manage to post the 1st day that I step on the Korea ground!! It was really amazing, that time I really still can’t believe that I was in Korea!! It was like a dream!!!”

Anne-Sophie, of Sophie’s World, is based in Norway and has lived in the US and in New Zealand. She shares how time has changed, especially in terms of traveling: her daughter took her first trip when she was 11 weeks old while Anne-Sophie’s ventured on her very own first trip abroad when she was already 11 years old.

“Back in the 70s, Mum took my brother and me to New Orleans to a visit her cousin – Aunt Hanna, we called her – who had emigrated and made tons of money. It was quite the journey, involving 4 different planes and 5 airports. We switched planes in Copenhagen, New York’s JFK and in Atlanta, Georgia. But I didn’t mind one bit. I was 11, my brother was 9 and neither of us had ever been on a plane before. Nor had Mum. In retrospect, I see she deserves some credit – admiration, even – for setting out on such a long, complicated journey with two raucous kids and no travelling experience.”

Photo taken from Indian Bazaars' blog site.

On her post The Quiet Train, Kiran, of Indian Bazaars, shared that she has never experienced boarding a quiet train until her first time travel outside of India. Her Amtrak ride in the US reminded me of my very own experience. But her Amtrak travel experience brought to her memories of traveling by train back in her home country and seen the differences in train travel in both countries.

“I looked out of the window as the train pulled into a station and wished people wouldn’t queue up to enter the train, wished there would be more than the five people that I saw. I thought then of the Indian train and all its chaos. I wanted to be home again – just to listen to familiar sounds of ‘chai, chai’ with the vendor stopping by the window to sell a cup of steaming hot tea or a fruit juice.”

Alaska, taken from the Travelogged site.

Liz, of Travelogged, felt disoriented when she first arrived in Alaska. Since she left New York at over an hour past noon and traveled for about 14 hours, she was prepared for nighttime, but not Alaska. Her first-time travel to this US State has brought many surprises to her.

“Arriving in Fairbanks, Alaska, was one of the strangest arrivals I’ve ever experienced. There was nothing wrong with the landing – it was a smooth (if cramped) flight on Frontier from Denver. But when I arrived at 9:37pm on time to the minute (OK, that was also a little strange), it was just so incredibly bright! I felt as if I had arrived somewhere in the morning on a red-eye flight. It was that identical disoriented, groggy feeling, and yet it was nighttime.”

A photo of Paris taken by Jennifer of The Turkish Life.

Jennifer, of The Turkish Life, left her San Francisco home for a great two-week European escapade. She did her solo travel in an American backpacker style which brought her colorful travel memories, like eating Indonesian food for the first time while she was in Amsterdam.

“I was 23 years old and being laid off from my second job in less than a year. Instead of calling my mother, my best friend, or my boyfriend for a sympathetic ear, I picked up the phone and dialed a travel agent. I was planning my first trip to Europe, a visit with my then-boyfriend to see his family in England and Denmark, and with those pesky limits on vacation days suddenly a non-issue, I wanted more time. I had my passport, my Western Europe guidebook, my Eurorail pass, a kabillion rolls of film, and a borrowed backpack that was way too big for me. I was ready.”

Swimming practice. Photo taken from the Alpaca Suitcase site.

Jason, of Alpaca Suitcase, recounted the first swimming practice for his daughter while living in Cusco. Being in a different place is an adjustment, especially to children. The language may sound strange and the need to be accepted is inevitable. At the end of the practice night, Jason was glad to see his daughter smile.

“While living in Cusco both of our kids had settled into a regular routine with the Cusco Swim Team. Three to four times per week at 6:45 p.m. they’d stroll in to the Piscina Municipal de Wanchaq and jump right in with the other swimmers. I’m sometimes amazed at how easy they blend in. I have to remember, however, that the first practice was very difficult for my 12-year old daughter.

My daughter and I came down to Cusco 6 weeks before my wife and son (my son wanted to graduate from middle school), so she was the sibling that would pave the way for the other.”

Photo taken from the Ginger Beirut blog site.

Georgia, of Ginger Beirut, grew up in England and moved to countries like France, and later, Lebanon. In her post, she states that people, depending on whether they are tourists, expats, or immigrants, may have varying perspectives on Lebanon, which she believes has a thousand faces. She even shared an old joke, which now takes a whole new dimension to her as she lives as an expatriate in Beirut.

“The Lebanon has a thousand faces. On my first brief visit, it could have very well deceived me. I might have left my caring, protective hosts believing that Lebanon was all about dinner parties, warm hospitality, excellent food. Or I might have stayed indoors for two weeks, on the phone to concerned family and friends, listening from the balcony as gun battles took half the city hostage, and come away with the impression that Lebanon was not for tourism, let alone for settling.

But it didn’t. After nearly a year, I can attest that for that short stay, Lebanon was true to its diversity.”

Her first travel in Hawaii. Photo taken from Barefoot Inked site.

Coming from a family of travelers, Sash, of Barefoot Inked, was used to traveling during her childhood. But after hibernating from all those trips across the world, she was able to set foot again outside of her home country but, this time, on her own. Read how her first solo travel has brought her challenges along the way, which only intensified her love for traveling.

“I landed in Hawaii, it was my first stop on a long journey of self discovery – a young adult still very much a child, venturing out into the world to find clarity and experience the world outside my backyard. But as exciting and thrilling as solo travel is, particularly your very fist time, it is terrifying and scary and pretty daunting too.”

“And so began a love with travel… there have been many mishaps along the way… but every one is an adventure. Every hiccup in a well planned trip has?led to something more wonderful than could have ever been planned for…”

For me, a place takes in a different kind of image when I see it for the first time. Everything seems too interesting that I’ve always wanted to preserve the memory. Often times, I refuse to doze off to sleep as I look out the window of my moving vehicle, afraid that the moment would just pass me by. That’s why I take delight in remembering my first visits to a particular place, absorbing all I see, feel, smell, hear and taste like an innocent babe. The novelty of the place drives me to go out and travel to more destinations because once I come back to the same place, it will be a totally different experience once again.

So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and hit the road! And enjoy your first trip to that place you have always wanted to visit.

The previous blog carnival on Love On The Road was hosted by Sash at Barefoot Inked, and our next Blog Carnival is on the topic of Favorite Place on Earth hosted by Anne-Sophie from Sophie’s World.?Take delight in the colorful stories of our Lonely Planet Blogsherpas as they share their travel experiences with us.

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Tips for First-time Travelers to the Philippines

October 11, 2010 at 3:48 pm | Posted in Asia, Philippines | Leave a Comment
Tags: travel, Philippines, first-time travel, snorkeling, blogsherpa, mountains, diving, beaches

As we are on the topic of guest post, I contributed to A Dangerous Business some tips for those planning to travel to the Philippines for the first time.

So, you are planning for that vacation which you haven’t taken for years. Or, you are looking for an affordable, yet romantic place for your honeymoon. Or, you suddenly have that urge to travel and explore the world a bit. You take out a map to find a place where you can spend any of these. Don’t you get curious about that interesting group of islands in the Southeast Asia region called the Philippines?

It’s not a familiar destination for tourists. Probably, that’s one reason for you to head off to this tropical country. Not only will you enjoy more than the usual sights you find in travel magazines, but you’ll be surprised by the various tourist spots the Philippines has in store for you. And there’s an added bonus: English is widely spoken all over the archipelago, which makes communicating with the locals a lot easier.

For starters, the Philippines has 7,107 islands divided into three major island groups: Luzon in the north; Visayas at the center; and Mindanao in the south. It’s capital is Manila, which is the major gateway to the country.

If it is your first time to be Philippine-bound, let me direct you to some great places around the country which you might love to visit.

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