Photo from Philippine Collegian Facebook Account

Marahil ay inyo ng nabalitaan ang naganap na sunog sa UP Faculty Center nito lamang ika-1 ng Abril taong 2016 sa ganap na 1:00 ng madaling araw. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa batid ang tunay na dahilan ng insidente. Kamakailan lamang ay nasunog ang CASAA at UP Bowling Center na siyang ikinalungkot ng mga taga-UP. Nakakadurog ng puso ang pangyayaring ito para sa mga kapwa ko Isko at Iska. Ang ilang ay talaga namang hindi maitago ang pagdadalamhati at hinagpis sa nangyaring sunog sa UP Faculty Center. Isa na ako doon. Oo ng mga oras na kasalukuyang nasusunog ang UP Faculty Center ay dali-dali ko itong nabasa sa Facebook ko at wala akong magawa upang pigilan ang sunog, naiyak ako. Kung sana ang mga luhang lumalabas sa aking mga mata ay kayang sugpuin ang naglalagablab na apoy ay hindi na ako titigil sa pag-iyak hanggang maapula ito. Salamat sa mga bumberong nagtulong-tulong upang apulahin ang apoy na umabot sa Task Force Alpha. Salamat at walang nasaktan o nadamay sa sunog. Salamat dahil walang ibang gusali ang natupok dahil sa mabilis na pagresponde ng mga bumbero sa karatig na lugar.

Kung meron mang nasaktan sa pangyayari ito ay walang iba kung kami, kaming mga Isko at Iska, mga alumni, propesor at estudyante. Marahil ang iba sa inyo ay nagtatanong kung bakit ganoon na lang ang aming reaksyon sa pangyayari. May nabasa pa ako ang isa ay nagtanong “Bakit andun ka ba nung nangyari ang sunog at ganyan ka kaapektado sa sunog?” Oo nga’t wala kami mismo sa pinangyarihan ng sunog. Pero ang mga alala namin ay nasa loob ng gusaling nilamon ng apoy. Mga alaala na humubog sa aming pagkatao bilang isang estudyante ng UP. Mga alaala na minsan ay ay naging bahagi kami ng isa sa pinakamatandang gusali ng unibersidad. 

Alaala nung mga panahong hinahabol namin ang mga propesor namin para sa mga grades namin. Mga panahong nakikiusap kung pwede pang habaan ang palugit sa pagpapasa ng papers. Mga alaala na nakikiusap ka kung maaring mag pre-rog sa klase nya lalo na’t graduating ka. Yung mga panahon na nagpapasa ka ng papers sa at ilalagay mo sa pigeon hole ng professor mo. Wala na ngayon yun. Wala na, kasi naging abo na kasama ng ibang alaala ng Faculty Center.

Ang mga exhibits, paintings, readings na masasabing kasing tanda na ng panahong lumipas na kailan man ay hindi na maibabalik pa. Mga alaala ng nakalipas na ngayon ay kasama na ng abo mula sa sunog. Ngunit nawala man sila ng pisikal sa puso’t diwa namin ang alaala ng Faculty Center ay hindi mawawala kailanman. Pipilitin at siskapin naming mga Isko at Iska na muling bumangon at magsimula muli. Pipilitin namin na makalakip ng mga lumang readings na maari pang magamit. Salamat UP Faculty Center. Salamat Bulwagang Rizal, sa mga panahon na nakasama kita nung ako isa pa lamang estudyante. Salamat sa mga panahon na nagkaklase kami sa lugar na iyan. Salamat sa panahong naghihintay ako sa propesor ko para maki-usap sa palugit ng papers. Salamat sa mgamasasayang alaala UP Faculty Center.

The Budgeted Traveler

Have you been dreaming of having a vacation outside the Philippines but you’re on a tight budget? Perhaps you’re thinking “How? As much as I want to go on a travel but if I’m on a tight budget, it can’t be.” Well, I’m sure you’re considering a lot of things from plane tickets, to accommodation, your food up to itinerary. Even I had a hard time thinking having a vacation outside the 

country on a tight budget. But guess what? I was able to visit 4 countries last year. Yes, that was 4 countries with limited 

money in my pocket. Maybe you’re wondering “How did she do that?” Let me share my experience and how I was able to full travelling outside the Philippines. 

First, we need to consider on how we can get a low price airfare ticket. This is the time that we need to wait for the Piso Fare or Promo Fares of different airlines in the Philippines. The top 3 airlines that offer promo fares are as follows: Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia. Most of the time they launch the promo fares during holiday period which will start at 12 midnight. Just a heads up, since this will be a promo fare, a lot of people is waiting for it even the travel agencies. So, you need to be the first in line to get the best deal. 

My first time to travel was last March 2015. It was actually a birthday present to myself. I remember I told myself “Oh no I’m turning 30, I should do something that is more challenging, I guess I should travel, alone.” Tadaaaa! Then I booked a ticket going to Singapore. I didn’t get a chance to have the promo fares. Luckily, I used my mom’s Mabuhay Miles points (thanks mom!). The regular fare from Manila - Singapore via Philippine Airlines during that time was approximately P15,000 for a round trip fare, but I in my case I just paid P4,000 for the tax and ticketing fee including the terminal fee. 

How about the accommodation? I must admit that the cost of living in Singapore is a bit expensive. I’ll give you a tip, if you will be travelling in solo or with a group of friends on a tight budget, I would suggest to stay in a hostel rather than a hotel. It would be much cheaper in hostel specially you won’t be staying there just to sleep the whole day. There are lots of hostels in Singapore depending on your budget.If you want to know the hostels in Singapore you can visit www.tripadvisor.com; www.agoda.com; www.hostelworld.com; www.hotelbookings.com and a lot more. For a hostel they offer different varieties of room. They have a dorm type room which they also called capsules. It is composed of bunk beds in a room. They offer female dorm, male dorm and mixed dorm. You can choose if you want to stay with a group of six, eight or ten people in a room. I stayed in Five Stones Hostel which I spent P4,200 for 5 days and 4 nights. I chose this hostel because it’s just 10 minutes walking distance from the MTR. 

For tourist attractions you can do a thorough research on where to get a discounted tickets for their theme parks such as Universal Studio, Sentosa, City Tour and even riding a Cable Car in Harbour Front Square. 

When it comes to the transportation I will recommend to maximize the use of MTR because this will be the cheapest means of transportation in Singapore aside from the bus. Cabs are kinda expensive, especially if you’ll get stuck in a traffic.

The time will come that you will get hungry especially after having a long walk from this tourist attraction to that. Don’t worry, there are lot’s of food stalls in Singapore to choose from. But since we are budgeted I tried eating their local food. I was able to experience their street food as well. They also have convenient stores, 711 is everywhere, but just to remind you water is expensive, so just get the water from your hostel. I always tell to my friends who wants to travel but on a tight budget that the most they can save is on food. They can limit the amount of the food that they will eat or they can depend on the price. They also have budget meals there. 

A trip won’t be a trip if you don’t have souvenirs. Don’t worry, the Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road is the best place to buy these. They sell ref magnets, key chains, shirts, chocolates and a lot more. You want to save money? No problem keep on haggling (Filipinos are good with it). 

On my 3rd day in Singapore I decided to make a side trip in Malaysia, you're truly Asia! Instead of taking a plane which will cost me around P5,000 for a round trip fare, I took a coach bus. Although it took me 6 hours ride from Singapore to Malaysia I was able to save P1,600. Now to avoid the boredom because of the long ride I just slept in the bus. I stayed at my friend's condo and she let me try eating the local food in Malaysia. Street food baby! I tried the different kind mushrooms and their duck barbecue and the heaven watermelon from Asia Cafe in Kuala Lumpur. I had photo ops with the Petronas Towers too! I stayed in Malaysia in less 24 hours. The following day I went back to Singapore to visit another friend and the day after that is time for me to go home. Time to work again to earn and save money for my next adventure. As a whole I only spent less than P30,000 for my 4 days in Singapore and almost 1 day in Malaysia.

It didn’t end there! My best friend and her husband invited me to go to Hong Kong with them last November 23-26, 2015. I didn’t think twice since I know that I can get a low airfares in Cebu Pacific and guess what I was not wrong. I was able to get a Manila - Hong Kong round trip fare for only P5,000. Next we did is to look for a hostel. Yeah hostel because we don’t need to stay in a hotel since we will just sleep there for 3-4 hours so why spend in a hotel if you can get a cheaper one? We stayed at YesInn Hostel in Fortress Hill, which is 5 minutes walking distance in the MTR. The cost of per head for the hotel is P4,000 for 4 days and 3 nights and we’re 3 in the room. Not bad, huh? When we arrived at the airport, we purchased the airport express for only P600, which you can have an unlimited MTR ride and round trip airport pass

. Same drill when it comes to eating, we didn’t eat in authentic restaurants there because it will be pricey. Instead, we tried the fancy restaurant there who serves an authentic noodle, mind you it’s heaven. We didn’t miss the chance to try the street food which is very affordable.

Now let’s go to the tourist attractions in Hong Kong. Before we flew to Hong Kong we made a thorough research for our itinerary. We look for discounted tickets for their theme parks and other attractions. Glad we found one in Kowloon. The website is http://www.goldencrownhk.com We made a reservation via email and when we arrived in Hong Kong we pick up the tickets in their office. So here’s the prices for each attraction; Disneyland - P2,600; Cable Car to Ngong Ping Village - P1,300; Madam Tussaud/Peak Tram/Sky Terrace - P1,600

Your trip in Hong Kong won’t be complete if you will miss the chance in going the “Happiest place on earth” which is Disneyland! Oh yes! I really enjoyed dancing with Mickey and Friends during their parade. It feels so good to be a child again.

 On our 3rd day we spent our whole day in Macau. We took a ferry from Kowloon, which we spent P2,000 for a round trip fare. We went to the Venetian Hotel and tried to the famous egg tart from Lord’s Stow. There are lots of Filipino working in Macau and if you think you being lost you won’t hesitate to ask them for directions. From there we rode a shuttle bus going to Senado Square and St. Paul of Ruins. We didn’t miss our chance to try the street food. Aside from very affordable it tastes delicious, mouth-watering and you can really taste the different spices that they put in there. It’s getting late and we don’t want to miss the last ferry ride going back to Hong Kong so we decided to go home. Oh, by the way, just to give you an idea, while we’re in Macau, we didn’t spend any centavo when it comes to the transportation because we rode the hotel buses which is for free.

Again, a trip won’t be a trip if you won’t have any souvenirs. You can get cheap souvenirs in Mongkok. They have a Ladies Market. It’s actually a bazaar where you can find different stuff. Here, we call it Tiangge. If you want to save money, feel free to haggle. Some of the Chinese sales ladies know how to speak Filipino. All in all I spent P20,000 for our 4 days and 3 nights Hong Kong Trip. 

For this year, I already started planning my Japan trip since I was lucky to get a Japan visa. Hopefully it will be fun as my Singapore-Malaysia and Hong Kong-Macau trip. I just need to do more research to achieve another budget friendly trip. 

Travel while you’re still young and able to do it. You can always make money but not the happy memories that the travel can give you.