Mga Pahina

Biyernes, Setyembre 19, 2014

Taking a peek: The 5th Philippine International Motor Show


Behind these doors is where it all begins
Much excitement was generated even before the 5th Philippine International Motor Show opened its doors yesterday, and for a very good reason. The Philippine International Motor Show 2014, or PIMS as it is more fondly called, is organized every two years by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and is considered as the largest and most established car show in the country. It is participated by some of the biggest names in the automotive industry today – BMW, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Suzuki, Kia, Daewoo Bus, Toyota, Lexus, Peugeot, and Mercedes Benz.

I am no car expert but I admit that my eyes went really big the moment I stepped inside the showroom. For a car enthusiast, I bet this would definitely be car heaven. With a lot of brands participating, a wide array of cars filled every corner of the exhibit area.

I won’t be saying much because I’d really like the photos to speak for themselves. So here you go, the stash of the photos I took when I visited the PIMS yesterday:

Meet Toyota's Fun Vii




Look, it's the King of the Road posing side by side luxury cars!

















It's the limited edition Mazda Miata. Look at all those curves.









This year's theme, Progress in Motion, really depicts how the automotive industry has grown in the previous years. The organizers even made us all go to a trip down memory lane with their iconic automotive exhibit at the hallway. Here are some of the cars which were part of the Philippine motoring industry's very rich history:









If you ask me what the show-stopper was... I personally think that it was this: The Honda NSX Concept car. If you think the NSX Concept looks good in photos, trust me, it looks even better in metal. This sexy car literally made my jaw drop.





For those interested, you can still catch the 5th Philippine International Motor Show at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. The exhibit’s going to run from September 18-21 so you still have the weekends to check it out. There’s a very minimal Php 100.00 entrance fee but I promise you that with the extensive line up of cool cars that you will be seeing there live and up close, it will be so worth it.

P.S. Sorry I wasn't able to include photos of the models. I took these during the opening program and much of the exhibitors didn't have their models out on the floor yet. I'll be visiting the motor show again later today and I'll try to update these with more photos if I can. :)

Roadtrip to the North: Travelling to Pagudpud

They say that life is a book and those who don’t travel read only one page. I guess when me and my boyfriend went on our little summer escapade around the Ilocos region— Laoag, Vigan, and Pagudpud, we were able to flip a couple of pages in our lives’ books.

When the both of us were preparing for this trip, I admit that I got the most help from my online research. I read blogs, online reviews, travel websites, forum threads, name it, I’ve probably dipped my finger in it during this time. It was fascinating to read through what other bloggers have experienced, the places they went to, and the food they ate. Definitely hyped me up more for our upcoming trip! So here in my first post, I will not only be sharing our experiences but I’ll squeeze in a few info which I think might help those who plan to go on their own Pagudpud trips in the future.

Since this is both our first time to travel to Pagudpud on a bus, my boyfriend asked around from his colleagues how we should go about with this. All of them directed us to Partas Liner. Partas Liner is a pretty old bus company which offers daily trips to Baguio and other provinces in the north. They have terminals at Cubao and Pasay but we opted to ride from the Sampaloc terminal since it was the nearest from where we were staying. A one-way ticket to Laoag, as per April 2014 rates, costs Php 665.00. We were advised that from there, we just had to take a van going to Pagudpud.

After about 30 minutes, we were asked to board the bus and we finally hit the roads at around 10 pm. All in all, I think it took about 12-13 hours before we reached Laoag. When we reached Laoag about lunch time of the following day, we took a tricycle from the Partas Liner terminal to the place where we can take vans to Pagudpud. Taking the tricycle shouldn’t be a worry since there is already a long line of tricycles waiting inside the bus terminal.

Still giddy after over ten hours of land travel!
The tricycle brought us to the van terminal where we can take our ride to Pagudpud. I guess it’s best to manage your expectations because the vans here definitely won’t have air conditioning, what they do have is air “continuous”— continuous air from outside the van. J Best to get a seat on the window side because it can get pretty hot in the van with several people really tightly-packed inside. And of course, you wouldn’t want to miss the nice view, too. Our almost two-hour trip to Pagudpud set us back by Php 100.00 each.

With instructions from the staff of the resort we were about to stay at, we got off the van at the Blue Lagoon Cove. Just tell the van driver to drop you off there. You'll see it easily because there is a huge signage and a waiting shed at the drop-off point. Since the resort was on the farthest point of the beach strip, we had to take another tricycle to take us there. We were charged Php 70.00 for this trip. Exhausted and lacking energy because of our overnight travel, we finally reached our chosen resort in Pagudpud: Casa Consuelo Island Reef Resort at the Blue Lagoon.

According to what I’ve read, there are two shores you may opt to visit when you come to Pagudpud: the Blue Lagoon and the Saud beach. The Saud beach is lined with a lot of hotel resorts too but they are a little bit pricier than the ones in the Blue Lagoon. But don’t get me wrong, the Blue Lagoon offers an equally exhilarating view of the beach. From our resort, aside from the beach, you also get a bonus view of two small mountains which the locals there call “Dos Hermanos”.

Imagine waking up to this



The room that we got is a pretty and breezy garden casa. It had a queen-sized bed, fancy lighting, a fan, and a comfy duyan in front of our room. It truly felt like a home away from home. All these plus the services of very kind and attentive staff for only Php 2,000 per night. And this comes in with free breakfast too! Talk about bang for your buck. They also have air-conditioned rooms and family-sized rooms, in case you prefer those. You can view all their rooms here. Here is the facade of the garden cabana we stayed in:

Pretty, isn't it?

If you want to take a dip, you have to walk for a bit because the Casa Consuelo shore is rocky so you really can’t swim there. But with a mere 5-7 minute walk to the neighbouring beach, you can already enjoy the sun, sand, and the sea at Hannah’s Beach Resort for free. Aside from swimming, there are several other amenities that you could avail of at Hannah’s. They have banana boats and zip lines. Actually, they’re saying that this is the longest zipline in the world which runs above water— and it honestly looks like so! Remember our tricycle ride earlier? That’s from the top of a mountain going down to the Blue Lagoon. Now, imagine getting hung up from that place and zipping your way down in a speed that only God-knows-how-fast. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to try this because....well, yeah, I chickened out. Haha!

One interesting thing I noticed is how a lot of food and souvenir stalls are situated at the roadside near the beach. This gives you easy access to food and drinks in case you get hungry from all the swimming. And they have quite an extensive variation too— from ihaw-ihaw, to burgers, to shawarma, chips, ice cream, juices, ice scramble, and a whole lot more. Your taste buds (and your tummy!!) won’t be disappointed.

Our first day in Pagudpud was about eating, swimming, and more eating. Haha!  We ended our day with a sumptuous feast of Ilocos bagnet, Kare-kare, and Pinakbet at Casa Consuelo’s dining area. The food’s really yummy and they are quite affordable too, just around Php 100.00 to Php 220.00 for a hefty serving of your chosen viand. We dozed off to sleep with happy hearts and happy tummies, knowing that there’s so much more ahead of us in the coming days.

(Part 2 of our Pagudpud Escapade to be posted soon. J)

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Partas Liner, Inc.
Contact number: +632 7433242 (Sampaloc Terminal) 

Casa Consuelo Island Reef
FB Page: www.facebook.com/CasaConsuelo
Contact number: 09189905385 (Ms. Armi)