||| As I remember, I noted of our short island trips back in the Philippines. I think I just miss the blue beaches, the soft sand and the camaraderie that I found within my friends and fellows from the university and from the office. In fact the following article that I share here with you was also shared in a tourist website but since it has been more than a year, I believe that it is high time to share it as well with my own blog readers. I divided the whole articles into two parts while each part has 5 subtitles.

My very fist office as an auditor in Ayala Avenue: Photo courtesy of cocktales.ph
I. Meeting Friends at the Philippine Central Business District--  I had to wake up early and be ready with all my luggage for our 4-day outing to various islands in the country. It was vacationouting time for me and my friends. Arriving at the business center of the Philippines, which is the Ayala Avenue of Makati City, I proceeed to meet friends at the Jollibee Fastffood. The city was still quiet and the streets were very organized since it was before six in the morning and people are slowly arriving to commence the working day that Thursday. Before seven o'clock each working day is unlike the rest or other times of the day that is totally chaotic especially along the front of Makati Stock Exchange where there is a bus stop and jeepney stop for loading passengers. Unloading is not allowed. It is in another area. This avenue though is one among the most popular in the country for its revenue generating power and the amount of employment it provides to the whole country.

II. Makati City to Cabu Pacific Domestic Airport-- Ayala Avenue is the place very familiar to me and my friends thus, it was our meeting place that day. We had our traditional hotdog, egg, fried rice and hot choco (for drink) breakfast at the fastfood and had about an hour to waste before we start ourselves towards the airport. We were to go at the Manila Domestic Airport where Cebu Pacific lands and departs for its domestic flights. When we finished our breakfast we had to hire a taxi and it was not too bad paying three euro from Makati to the Airport at the Pasay area. After all there were six of us and we have hired two taxis. The travel was quick since it was early in the morning and it was Thursday.

III. Cheap Fares But Be Serious About It -- More friends and colleagues were already waiting us at the airport when we arrived. We purchased our ticket at a promotional rate which iwas Php1.00 (1/ 60 of a euro) but of course it was exclusive of taxes and other charges. Cebu pacific has many tourist-conducive offers. Just watch out at their site (www.cebupacificair.com). One friend who was to have the flight two hours earlier than us have missed it and he had to pay the full amount of ticket which was more than Php 2,000. Indeed, it was cheap but must not be taken for granted. It was a big lesson learned for us.

IV. The Flight To Cebu-- Flying to Cebu was easy and fast. Aside from the fact that there are three local companies for airplanes, Cebu is a big city and province making big demands for flight passengers. Since i was with friends I barely noticed the uneasiness of the flight (if there was any). It was more or less an hour to be in Cebu from Manila. It was a bright sunny day for an extended hot season in the country so the flight was so smooth and we landed without any noticeable problems. It was in the middle of the month of June.

V. Arriving at Cebu-- It was not the end of our trip for the day. It was only ten percent if the total travel was to be counted. From the city of Cebu, we had to proceed to a provincial port and take another ship to reach our destination. The trip lasted for around three hours due to the fact that we had to confirm our tickets for the next ship that we would be taking. Since it was our first time in Cebu, we enjoyed watching the countryside as we were busy talking inside our hired van. We also stopped along the way to buy some snacks because of the lunch that we have missed. Cebu people are friendly.