Hey there! I’m Jan and I’ve been a long-time advocate of Self-Education, Personal Growth & Development, Transformation, and Life-Long Learning.
I’ve been continuously learning and growing for the past 15+ years, reading books, attending seminars and workshops outside the country, enrolling in online courses, building businesses, succeeding in some, failing in some, traveling, immersing in new cultures, and all the other ways you can think of to grow both my personal and professional life.
This is a LIVE Blogging Event held @ the SM City Cebu Foodcourt on November 30, 2009 entitled the "Asia In A Basket" Food Blogger's Event.
This event is organized by the SM City Cebu Foodcourt Manager and we, the Cebu Bloggers Society were lucky to be invited by this once in a lifetime event.
The staffs prepared specialty foods from different Food tenants inside the food court for us to eat and share our opinions on what their Specialty was like.
These are some Food Tenants who happily shared their Speciaty foods to us:
Marina
Golden Bowl
Fountainhead
Island Grill Express
And MORE! (to be uploaded soon :)
As a Travel-Events-Food Blogger myself, this is a very great opportunity given to us by the SM City Foodcourt Manager and staffs to be able to share my food experience to other people visiting the SM City Cebu.
A very BIG BIG Thanks to the SM City Foodcourt Manager and staffs for organizing this event! The SM City Cebu Foodcourt sure is one of the Best Places To Eat with your family and friends @ the SM City Cebu. Read more...
After staying at SM Mall Of Asia for a very long time, we went straight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for our flight to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. We took the Cebu Pacific International Flight and the departure time is 12 AM so it was kind of tiring. In The Plane
We were required to fill up the Arrival-Departure Declaration Card. As you can see in the picture, it says "The Socialists republic Of Vietnam" which gives me some thrills and excitements (since it's a communist country).
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam International Airport
We arrived at the Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam International Airport at 1AM even though the flight is supposed to be 2 hours. Note: Philippines is advanced in one hour compared to Vietnam.
No Picture, No Picture!
Did I mention that I got some THRILLS when I was filling up the form?? Now this one's worst! This is where the migration officer stamps your Passport. This is the only picture I got because when It was my turn for my passport to be stamped and my father was the one taking the picture, the Migration officer saw my Dad taking picture and then suddenly slamed his window and said at loud "NO PICTURE NO PICTURE!" And damn it was so scary! I thought we will be deported back to the Philippines because of what we've done! The Ho Chi Minh International Airport sure is not the Best Places In The World to stay! T_T
While strolling near Unitop (a store that sells almost all made in China merchandised) in Butuan City, this group of street vendors (Butuanons) caught my attention especially on what they were selling. My dad immediately told me to capture on video the actual cutting, melting, molding of this very unique Pinoy Creativity. It's a hand-made plastic plant decor which they made using used 1.5-2 Liter Softdrink bottles with colors Blue and Green (from Coca-cola/Pepsi and Sprite/7-up bottles). The colored petals were also made of soft drink straws.
We were amazed with their creativity that we bought one Blue Plant Decor which cost us Php 20.00 or $0.4 only! But can you believe it? A single used plastic bottle that usually has no cost (when sold in the Junk shop) now costs Php 20.00 with just an IDEA, PATIENCE and CREATIVITY. It sure is one of the Best Buys when you're in Butuan City! Let us also help promote and patronize our own Filipino-made products.
P.S. A man carrying a pail full of skinned frogs also asked me if I would like to buy his stuff. They said it tastes good but we're not yet ready for it. Maybe next time =).
Nightlife in Butuan City is not that exciting but then if you find it hard to call in the night in the city, spend an hour or two at Margie's side-by-side with Pan De Pugon. Enjoy the famous Margie's cookie monster cake over a variety of coffee concoction. You can also try freshly baked breads and goodies from Pan de Pugon. Bring along with you your wi-fi ready laptops to finish sending off your emails or checking on CNN for the latest news regarding Swine Flu Virus.
We were there sometime ago, ordered a very light snack with our laptop on hand but unfortunately failed to make an internet connection. I just hop that was not done intentionally by their staff. We called their attention several times to our difficulty connecting but also got several confusing response.
Again, Margie's and Pan De Pugon is a Best Place for a relaxing evening in Butuan City.
When in Butuan City, the best place to for grilled foods is in Guy's BBQ (Barbecue) and Cafe Central Fast food.Your choice of grilled chicken, pork, isaw (Chicken Intestine), batikon (Kidney), atay (Liver), pakpak (Chicken Wings), li-og (Chicken Neck) and a variety of fishes and squids. Owned and managed by the Sta. Iglesia Family, Guy's Eatery and Cafe Central is a by word when it comes to grilled food. A Best Place to eat grilled foods when you're in Butuan City.
We went to SM Mall Of Asia (MOA) the day after we went to SM Sta Mesa (SM Centerpoint). We stayed there for the whole day, my Dad waiting for my Auntie and cousin to arrive from Davao City, and me, waiting for someone to lighten up my mood (Imagine being stuck inside SM Mall Of Asia for the whole day!). SM Mall Of Asia (MOA) was supposed to be the largest mall in the Philippines and in Asia but is now only ranked as the second largest mall next to SM City North EDSA because of the many extensions done to SM City North EDSA. The mall is located at Bay City, Pasay City, Philippines just near the SM Central Business Park and the Manila Bay.
The SM Mall of Asia mall grounds consists of four buildings interconnected by walkways; the Main Mall, the Entertainment Mall, and the North and South Carpark Buildings.
The Main Mall includes shopping and dining establishments and the food court. The Entertainment Mall is a two-story complex, a majority of which is open-air, facing Manila Bay.
The mall's 5,000 parking spaces are divided across two, six-story parking buildings conveniently designated the North and South parking buildings. The South Parking building houses the mall's official SM Department Store, while the mall's supermarket, the SM Hypermarket is located within the North Parking building.
One of the mall's somewhat-unique features is a 20-seater tram traveling around the mall grounds to ferry shoppers around.
Concierge desks are located in the Main Mall and the Entertainment Mall. -Wikipedia
SM Mall Of Asia Ice Skating Rink
One of the main attractions in SM Mall Of Asia is the first ever IMAX Theater in the country. Another attraction inside the mall is the Philippine's first Olympic-sized ice skating rink. And since it's an ice skating rink, it's slightly cooler in this area and people tend to stay here. There are times that an artificial snow is being popped off from above on to the ice skating rink, and luckily, we have captured it in real time. Here's a video we have taken:
SM Mall Of Asia Bowling and Billiards Area
Me and my dad also went to the mall's Bowling and Billiards Area where my dad usually takes a nap when he's in SM Mall Of Asia (shh.. that's our secret!). Here's some pictures of SM Mall Of Asia (MOA) Bowling and Billiards Area:
SM Mall Of Asia Shows and Events
There's also some luxury car shows and a Yamaha motorcycle show that time. I manage to get some pictures of my "Dream Cars" and a picture of one of the Yamaha Promo Girls too!(don't tell my Mom!):
Krispy Kreme in SM Mall Of Asia
Our most favorite doughnut is at SM Mall Of Asia (MOA) too! The Krispy Kreme Doughnuts! We bought 2 Dozens of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts before going to the airport.
San Miguel By The Bay / Manila Bay
After a long, long wait, my auntie and cousin finally arrived so we went strolling outside the mall to the Manila Bay or is called San Miguel By The Bay. There we saw this Big, floating, inflatable balls with a kid inside it (yes! inside the big, floating, inflatable ball!). We noticed that the parents of the children inside the ball are enjoying watching them, while the kids were not (poor kids.. tsk3!).
Sunset/Twilight In Manila Bay and SM Mall Of Asia
We waited for the sun to set there and captured some scenes of Twilight in Manila Bay and SM Mall Of Asia =). After a long day, me and my dad together with my auntie and cousin decided to go to the airport for our 11PM Flight to Saigon, Vietnam.
P.S. And of course, my day would not have been complete if I haven't met that someone who could lighten up my mood! Okay, I met with a pretty friend of mine whom I met at Plurk and Facebook, selling her Networking deals (yes! she's a business-minded chick! :p). Some say she looks like Jennelyn Mercado, some say Iya Villania, but I say, she's prettier than those two! (ehem!). She is Iana Therese Abesamis of ianatherese.blogspot.com (and now she's in to Problogging!). We both met at the SM Ice Skating Rink and I was glad to see her in person, atleast before leaving for Vietnam-Cambodia. Too bad she was in a hurry to get home that time, I wasn't able to treat her a snack! (Tsk tsk!) (She hates this picture so just check out more of her pics at ianatherese.multiply.com)
