Stan Debohol asked:




The Philippines is composed of 7,107 islands stretching as far as the tip of Borneo and Sabah, and in the northern part of the Philippines, one can travel to Japan by boat in less than 10 hours because Batanes Island is just a couple of hundred miles away from the territorial sea border of Japan.

Practically, boats, mostly old, dilapidated, are the mode of getting from one Philippine island to another. Because islands are situated relatively close to each other, taking a medium-sized boat is the best option for tourist travelers and Filipino commuters. A trip from Manila, the capital city of the country, to one of the islands in the Visayas region will take 24 to 26 hours. That is quiet a hassle for those who are traveling with small kids.

In recent years there have been many sea tragedies that hit the Philippine sea waters. The deadliest one was the sinking of a Sulpicio passenger boat off the cost of Romblon and Masbate which claimed nearly 2,000 lives. The Philippines is facing the vast Pacific Ocean. Understandably the country is a recipient of south monsoon winds from the Pacific. Typhoons always pass by the central part of the Philippines before they proceed to Taiwan or Vietnam or Japan.

Before the arrival of low budget airlines, people had no choice but to take the long torturous boat journey. It was like a monopoly for the traditional big boat operators, mostly Filipino-Chinese businessmen. They lord over the seas and they raise the ticket price without public announcement and as often as they want. Still, Filipino travelers would take the boat since a plane ticket will cost two or three months of an ordinary employee’s salary.

But in the last five years, traveling in the Philippines has significantly been revolutionized. There are now low budget airlines such as Cebu Pacific Air, Air Philippines, Zest Air, or Sea Air that will connect you from one island to another in less than an hour. The flag carrier, the Philippine Airlines, the first airline in Asia, has been forced to slash down its rate as it can no longer compete with low budget airlines. This is good for all Pinoy and foreign travelers. They now have an option. Taking a boat will cost the same as traveling by plane. Why take the boat when you can have the comfort of a plane ride?

What follows is a bit odd. Boat operators are now trying to compete with low budget airlines. They too slash down their fare rate and they have been aggressively advertising their travel offers.

It seems that the era of the shipping industry in the Philippines would be best left for cargo and logistics purposes only.

As for most travelers today, getting around the country’s thousands of islands has been made easier without hurting their pocket. Thanks to low budget airlines. People now have a choice.

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Timothy Spencer asked:


So someone gave you a gift wrapped in sassy purple-and-gold paper with a fancy ribbon to top it all off. Just looking at it makes you feel all itchy and excited to find out what’s inside! Of course, you don’t want to act like a greedy kid on Christmas morning while everyone is watching you, so you just smile and say thanks as gracefully as possible while holding all the anticipation in. You wait while everyone is away—you hold the package in your hands—your lower lip might even tremble a bit while thinking about the goody inside—you tear the fancy wrap off…and a cheap picture frame you can buy at any department store for P80 pesos greets your eyes. Talk about a major letdown huh?

We’ve all had an experience like this at least once in our lives. We love getting gifts since they make us feel special, but sometimes gift-receiving tends to get pretty ugly. How? Well, the gift may be generic and useless. We know that the person is well-meaning but admit it, we want to scratch the person’s eye out for wasting money on something we can’t help but resent as decent human beings. Good intentions are cool, but there are such things as misled good intentions.

They say it’s the thought that counts in giving gifts, but if there is no thought in the first place, if there is just a mindless, automatic reaction to the occasion, then the gift would count for zilch. We **** receiving useless, generic gifts. Naturally, we shouldn’t give such gifts to other people. The idea behind giving gifts is to make the recipient feel special, not annoyed or resentful. That is why we should give practical gifts that the person can appreciate. The gift should be appropriate not only to the occasion but to the personality of the recipient as well. It need not be expensive, so long as it’s thoughtful and practical with the person’s needs in mind.

For example, if your friend loves to watch movies, giving a copy of his favorite film or something that he or she would like to watch is a good idea. If your friend tends to get stressed at work too much, a gift certificate to a spa is just perfect (plus it’s not that expensive! ). If your friend is particular, a pretty scarf or a flattering shade of lipstick may get you a lot of hugs.

For occasions such as wedding anniversaries or Valentine’s, a bunch of flowers never fail to do the trick. The keyword for such occasions is “romance” and nothing spells it better than a bouquet of fresh, high-quality flowers specially handpicked for the occasion. There are several shops that sell flowers both online and on the streets, wherein they offer delivery to your loved ones. Delivery is usually efficient and hassle-free, so you might want to try the delivery service of your chosen flower shop.

Remember, pour effort into giving gifts to the people you love. Make sure that the gift is thoughtful and practical, and who knows, the people around you may stop giving you picture frames on your birthday.