JustWandering by Nina Fuentes | Travel blogging from Manila, wandering through the Philippines Asia and Australia
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Archive for May, 2007

May
31

Site updates

Posted by nina under Geek stuff

Hola!

Just a quick note to tell you a couple of updates I made for JustWandering.org:

  1. Resized the Dash Media badge. It’s making my site load oddly in Internet Explorer. Since it really is in bad form to tell my viewers to use Firefox when viewing my site, I’d have to make adjustments so nobody is excluded. The layout is currently working properly in IE7, Opera 9.1 and Mozilla Firefox 2.0. Though I think the real issue is the dead link on that bardge -_-
  2. Created a contact page. There had been more than one occasion when readers commented that they don’t know how to get in touch with me. Now you can stalk me with your heart’s desire! Click on the Contact link on the top navi bar and you’ll see a list of ways to get in touch.
  3. WordPress info. I’ve updated the justwandering.org page and added in the blog details I’ve been asked about before. Included are my current WordPress version, theme info, as well as active plugins.
  4. Pictures! I’ve finally spiced up my two about me pages with pictures. Okay, not entirely new to readers who’ve already seen it, but this is just a not-so-subtle hint to get you to look at it.
  5. Shameless plug. In the Who, Me? page, I have also added the link to my personal page. There’s really nothing much in there, save for some emo-ish blathering and egotistical praises for my greatness. But it’s cute, so go look at it!

You’ve seen it in Amelie, and again in Travelocity. What started out as a prank, is now somewhat a norm for travelers, though not always with a gnome.

Anton listed a some bloggers who have their ‘gnomes’: Joey and her BJDs, Ariel with his Bearbricks, Isabelle and her tabo (water dipper), Batjay and his Spiderman, Via and her Merlin, and Miss McDonald. (no further introduction needed. Haha.) Of course, there’s also Anton and his 2-year old son, Aidan.

As for me, and Khursten, our gnomes are these 4-inch dolls that are just beyond cute: Pinky Street dolls.
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Philippine Airlines is launching its first photo contest open to all professional, amateur and hobbyist photographers.

With this year’s theme: The Beauty of the Philippines, the event aims to widely promote the country’s ecotourism. It is the only photo contest that welcomes all amateurs, professionals, and children alike to participate in the competition – taking photography into a diverse perspective. With the Children’s Category, a first in the country, the event aims to encourage and nurture the talents of the youth. Over a milllion in total of prizes and travel benefits, and loads of freebies await the lucky winners; all from the project’s generous sponsors.The event is, by far, the biggest in the history of Philippine photography – with running events the entire year after its formal launch on June 15, 2007.

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May
29

Like a Virgin Blue

Posted by nina under Airlines, Australia, Reviews

Like a Virgin“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are about to take off. Please turn off all electronic devices like mobile phones, ipods, laptops and toasters,” said the voice over the public address system inside the plane.

The best word to describe Virgin Blue is cheeky. From their big red planes to the sexy Bondi Babe painted below the cockpit, Virgin Blue just screams attitude. And that is good.
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French Bistro CookingI was lucky enough to get an invite from Ajay to this French Cooking Class at the Manila Diamond Hotel. Despite the very short notice, I was really excited about getting out of the house, possibly meeting new people and attending a cooking class. (At this point, ANY class would have excited me; I miss school.)

I had a feeling that I would meet the other local bloggers, and I was right. First, there was Christine, whom I met over at BootsnAll, Rache, wife of Anton of Our Awesome Planet whom I met during the Pampanga Culinary Tour, and of course, Ajay, whom I met during the same tour. I was also able to meet Noemi of Aboutmyrecovery.com, but she didn’t stay; she just went there to drop off her daugther, Marielli, who unfortunately, I wasn’t able to talk to >_< Read the rest of this entry »

Cebu PacificWith all the promos Cebu Pacific had last 2006, it’s pretty hard to avoid not booking through them at least once. Their acquisition of brand new Airbus A319′s, enabled them to offer flights to more regional destinations, which in turn gave more Filipinos options for cheap travel both domestically and overseas.

I flew with them twice last year: to Cebu and to Bacolod, both originating in Manila. Back then Cebu Pacific was still giving out free bottles of C2 Iced tea. I hear that they’ve stopped giving them out this year (to the dismay of Pinoy travelers who are used to freebies). I wonder if they still have their fun games.
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One way of dressing inappropriately in a foreign country is by not dressing up at all.

BERLIN – A naked American tourist raised eyebrows when he went for a walk through a German city and told police he thought this was acceptable behavior in Germany.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18801907/

Apparently, nude sunbathing IS acceptable in public parks. However, walking around the city nude is a big no-no. (Hell, it’s a big no-no everywhere save for nude beaches and naturist playgrounds).

How embarassing.

May
24

Travelers wanted!

Posted by nina under Everything Travel Related

Interested in traveling the world and possibly getting famous along the way?

Globe Roamer TV is looking for travelers, photographers, writers and all-around techie.

This project, started by an avid traveler named Eric, aims to “harness the power of this new found media outlet to promote and pay for the adventure of a lifetime.” Basically, the team travels the world, and it’s documented in the Globe Roamer website by video, supplemented by blog entries. The route takes you to Europe, Asia (South & South East Asia), and down to Australia.

It doesn’t say in the website whether it’s open to all nationalities or only limited to US residents, but hey, no harm in asking, right?

Good luck to all those who’ll apply!

Nina Fuentes | Lovin' ManilaNina, going through quarterlife crisis, decided to stop talking about traveling and actually start traveling. Starting with a solo weekend trip to Cebu to a backpacking trip in Thailand and Singapore, she finally made it out of Asia and into Australia. After spending close to six months down under, she's happily settled in Manila (for now), intent to explore the best things the Philippines has to offer.