Nelson Aclan

A Week in Greece Itinerary: Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, and Athens

Before you can say “expensive”, let me break it to you that if you want to fly to Europe for less than ₱20,000, it’ll take an error fare for that or a really mad seat sale. In my case, I scored my round trip tickets from Manila to Athens for only ₱22,518.66. “Only” because, c’mon, it’s the Schengen area, which means you can hop to other countries without needing additional visas. (Bloody visas!) Despite the long layovers in Singapore, it was definitely a no-brainer when I saw the deal for a week in Greece. Besides, I got to meet and shoot with my postgraduate folks there. Social as usual, brotha!

US Visa Application Interview Guide for Filipinos

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There are gazillions of similar posts out there but with the recent news that the applicant’s social media details are now part of the requirements and how seemingly hard it is to get a US visa in the Philippines, I thought I should share how the process went for me (before social media came in, that is). But before anything else, ready your twang! See what I did in the title of this post? Demn right, I did. See what I just did again there?! Demn.

Australia Visa in One Day for Filipinos

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So I stumbled upon my Australia visa e-mail notice and apparently it was around this time a year ago (and five days, to be exact) when I lodged my application. And the visa? Granted just after a day. As paranoid as I am when it comes to visa applications (after getting denied when I first applied for one for Japan), I mustered all the requirements that I could, thinking that it would minimize the possibility of additional requirements from being asked. And I think it paid off.

A Day at Bunker Dive Resort

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If you haven’t heard the news, summer is basically upon us again. And before we know it, it could be almost over already. I already had a dose of Vitamin Sea so Bunker Dive Resort ain’t the first for this season but because I loved ~~our quickie~~ how quick and easy it was to get there, here I am, bragging about it first.

Hinugtan Beach: A Getaway from Boracay

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Ever since I tried going to Panay via 2GO Travel I’ve always thought that the island is easily accessible from Metro Manila for a quick weekend getaway. If you’re working on a day shift, you just have to work undertime on a Friday to catch the vessel in the evening and go half-day on Monday (the vessel may arrive early but there’s still the bus ride from the port and it’s a manic day). It wasn’t long until I did it again to bite a late summer escape in Hinugtan Beach in Aklan.

Skydiving in Bantayan Island

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When I came across a blog post (which I can no longer find) on skydiving in Bantayan Island and saw that Skydive Greater Cebu was already accepting reservations, boy, the following day I found myself at the bank paying for the down payment amounting to ₱3,000. The activity cost ₱18,000 but they had an early bird promo which reduced the amount by ₱3,000. That meant I had ample time to save for the balance and my birthday. Very doable, if you ask me.