I know I said I’ll announce the winners for the contest on February 1, but I was swamped trying to wade through a week’s worth of backlog and an overly enthusiastic group of people on Facebook, Yahoo Messenger and Skype who were all suffering withdrawals and getting uneasy about staying in one place for longer than 7 hours. I miss you guys too 
Enough drama, here’s some good news to three Just Wandering readers!
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Finally, a comprehensive map of Manila’s Chinatown! I remember my first trip to Binondo (the one that I can remember anyway). It was late at night and we were driving around this strange new place, guided by friend’s boyfriend who live in the neighborhood. I have absolutely no idea where we are, except that we were in Chinatown. The second time I went to Chinatown was when I joined Ivan Man Dy’s Big Binondo Food Wok tour.
He led us through Ongpin, Binondo’s main street, and down other smaller streets like Nueva and Salazar. He took us to the best places to dine in Chinatown, but I wasn’t really familiar enough with the place to remember where most of the places are.
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Christmas has passed and I’m still digesting food from Noche Buena and Christmas dinner. I hope you guys had a great Christmas as well!
As promised, the winners of the Schützen notebook contest are:
Bella, who loved Quiapo at first sight wins the slim purple and yellow notebook; dementedchris, who was awed by centuries-old palaces and temples of Beijing wins the medium pink and beige notebook; and Ellen Joy Castel, who holidayed in Batangas with her family wins the big yellow and purple notebook.
Thanks for all who joined and congratulations to all the winners! Watch out for more contests coming up in 2010!
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Christmas is just around the corner, and the kind folks of Hildebrand is giving JustWandering readers a colorful Schützen notebook!
The notebooks features 80 leaves of good quality paper and and sturdy double loop wire to bind. Its synthetic leather cover are made from premium material, designed to hold cards, photos and notes. Perfect for jotting down your travel plans or writing down your thoughts while on the road 
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It’s December 25th, and as Manila sleeps, I sleepily slog through the last three hour stretch before my shift ends. But I can’t sleep without announcing the winners of my Best Travel Photo contest first!
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Hey guys and girls! I just want to remind you that the Justwandering.org Best Travel Photo Contest is ending this Friday, December 19, 2008!
Post your favorite travel photos (taken by you, of course!), and get a chance to win autographed copies of Robert Alejandro’s The Sketching Backpacker: Backpack Southeast Asia and some parts of China and Jetro Rafael’s Backpack Photos postcard book AND and one-year Flickr PRO account!
Looking forward to seeing your photos! 
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Two of the things I’m most passionate about is traveling and photography. I may not be the most hardcore backpacker, nor am I the best photographer, but that doesn’t stop me from wandering and taking photos.
The best thing about taking photos while traveling is that you get to preserve a moment that you’ll only get to experience maybe only once in your life. I love how a single photo can tell a story and how it can evoke the same emotions you felt when you were taking it.
To celebrate another great year, I am giving away signed copies of Robert Alejandro’s book, The Sketching Backpacker: Southeast Asia and parts of China, Jetro B. Rafael’s Backpack Photos postcard book and the gift of flickr: a one year Flickr Pro account, which gives you unlimited uploads and unlimited sets and collections. To win this awesome set, simply share your best travel photos and share the story behind the picture.
Simple, no? It can be a picture of the most amazing sunrise you have witnessed in Cambodia or a photo of sea lions sunning themselves in the shores of the Galapagos. It just have to be a photo you have taken yourself, and it has to impress not only me, but also two of the best travel photographers (and my favorites) in the Philippines, Ferdz Decena of Ironwulf.net and Estan Cabigas of Langyaw.com, who will help me pick the winner of the contest.
To enter, create a blog post with the photo, and share the story behind the photo, and why it was memorable to you. Leave a comment or a trackback in this entry on or before December 19, 2008. The winner will be announced on December 25, 2008. I’m looking foward to seeing your photos 
Contest mechanics:
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Thank to everyone who joined my Wii Nights contest and my Bratpack Bag Diaries contest. It was tough picking just one, but only one can win.
The winner of the Wii party package at Red Box is…
I’m Jigglypuff from Super Smash Brothers. I’m cute and pink, and like Jigglypuff my singing puts people to sleep. If I win a Wii party at Red Box I can brush up on my singing and play the Wii at the same time, hitting two birds with one stone… hahaha! That is if I don’t put everyone to sleep first…
Congratualtions Roanne! You can schedule your Wii Party through Ms. Joyce Pogoy of GeiserMaclang by calling 0917-5234624, 812-8828 or 812-9199. I hope you don’t put your friends to sleep while singing
I know I said I will announce the winner of the Bratpack contest on the 19th, but since my weekend plans fell through, I can announce it now! The winner of the Jansport backpack is…
Kaoko shared the sweet story of how she and her green Jansport met her boyfriend and his black Jansport.
There was a black backpack on the shelf, right where he usually placed his. “Is he visiting today?” I wondered. A few months ago, checking for his bag on the shelf was the first thing I’d do. Sometimes, I would sneakily put my backpack beside his where he’d be sure to see it, just so he’d know I was still in school and we could commute home together. I guess it was a force of habit, so I put my green backpack, identical except for the color, next to his.
Congrats Kao, you may contact Ms. Arbee Panga of GeiserMaclang at though 0917-5344624, 812-8828 or 812-9199.
Agains, thanks to everybody who submitted their entries, and to Bratpack, RedBox and Geiser Maclang for making this contest possible. Watch out for more contests here in Justwandering.org! I have another one coming up soon
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Nina, 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.
