Bettytlopez

Take a Look at Sentosa SIngapore’s New Hotels

January 24, 2010

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 8:46 pm | permalink | View this entry

Can You Beat this Low Plane Fares?

January 7, 2010

Singapore has a definite advantage in low cost airline travel since two of the regions low cost carriers are based in Singapore (Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia) while another low cost carrier Air Asia is based in nearby Kualu Lumpur:

Here are the lowest airplane tickets from SIngapore and Kuala Lumpur :.

 

 

Flights with less than 3 hours duration:

Singapore to Kuala Lumpur                S$25 roundtrip    April 2010          Air Asia

 Singapore to Bali ,Indonesia              S$40 roundtrip    Dec 2009         Air Asia

Singapore to Yogyakarta,Indonesia   S$42 roundtrip   May 3-5,2010    Air Asia

Singapore to Phuket,Thailand             S$63 round trip  Mar 16-18,2010  Air Asia

 Singapore to Ho CHi Min,Vietnam     S$76 roundtrip     Nov 2009         Tiger Airways

Flights over 5 hours in duration:

Singapore to Perth                                S$117.3 rndtrip     Sept 2009         Jetstar

Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin(Beijing)       S$157.5 rndtrip   April 2010         Air Asia

As a rule of thumb for me, I find fares low if they fall below S$100 for flights for less than

3 hours and for less than S$200 for flights for destinations 3-6 hours duration.

The next time you book, let these rates serve as a benchmark whether you are buying real cheap tickets

 

 

 

 

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Tips for 2010

January 6, 2010

   

It wont hurt if we learn to follow some of these tips:
 
Health: 
1. Drink plenty of water. 
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar. 
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.. 
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy 
5. Make time to pray. 
6. Play more games 
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 . 
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day 
9. Sleep for 7 hours. 
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily.. And while you walk, smile. 

Personality & Character: 

11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. 
13. Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.. 
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously.. No one else does. 
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip. 
16. Dream more while you are awake 
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.. 
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness. 
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others. 
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present. 
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and

      fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. 

23. Smile and laugh more. 
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree… 
Social Relationships:

25. Call your family often. 
26. Each day give something good to others. 
27. Forgive everyone for everything.. 
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6. 
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day. 
30. What other people think of you is none of your business. 
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. 
Life: 

22. Do the right thing! 
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful. 
34. GOD heals everything. 
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change… 
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 
37.. The best is yet to come… 
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it. 
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy. 

Last but not the least: 
40. Learn to say Thanks You!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Posted by bettytlopez at 5:15 pm | permalink | View this entry

ITCHY FEET

November 27, 2009

My lola(grandmother) used to say that if you have a mole(nunal) near your mouth you would be a glib talker, and if you have a mole down your nosetrils you will lead a good life. I dont have a mole in my feet which would denote I have either an itchy feet or a knack for travelling but thats how I had become because of these cheap airline bargain trips.

Next week four of us(without hubby who is in Taiwan) me, my two boys Nygel and Niles and our ever faithful alalay Nette will be off to our Bali holiday. I had long dreamt of Bali and it was only 6 months ago when I was finally able to get that bargain ticket of $40 for a round trip ticket to this Indonesian Island Resort.

I am also excited of course to go home this December and we will be visiting Coron ,Palawan. The seat sale of Zest Airlines was incredibly tempting at P400 but when I finally decided to book our tickets the price already went up by a 1000 bucks but it was still worth going there.

Hubby doesnt know yet but by next year, I had planned our return to Phuket in March for the kids school holidays. Just the two of us ,we will be in Beijing in April(to finally see the Great Wall) and in Borobodur,Indonesia in May. In between , Singapore’s Universal Studio might already be open and hopefully we can visit before we live and settle in Canada.

From Canada onwards, it will be penny pinching time for us….but hopefuflly not the end of my Itchy Feet saga. 

 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 4:10 pm | permalink | comments[3]

2009 A Busy Travel Year

November 15, 2009

Thanks to the different budget airlines in Asia, 2009 marked a busy travel year for me. and my family. 

 

Beijing is in my List of Places to Visit in 2010

 

Except for my US trip financed by hubby all the rest of our family trips materialized due to numerous online sales of budget airlines namely Air Asia, Jetstar and  Tiger Airways.

Here is my busy travel schedule this year:

JANUARY-FEBRUARY- Los Angeles,San Diego,Sta Barbara and Carlsbad California USA

MARCH- Macau, China

APRIL- Penang,Malaysia

JUNE-Bintan Island,Indonesia

SEPTEMBER-Perth, Australia

OCTOBER- Siem Reap,Cambodia

NOVEMBER, Saigon,Vietnam

DECEMBER- Bali, Indonesia

 

                         Palawan and Manila ,Philippines   

My wish list next year(2010) is to visit these places:

MARCH-Phuket again

APRIL- Beijing to see the Great Wall of China

MAY -  Yogyakarta,Indonesiato visit the Borobodur temple

JUNE- Settle in Ontario,Canada 

Being in Singapore is an advantage since most budget airlines have their base here.This is the reason why most fares are cheap coming from Singapore.

Posted by bettytlopez at 11:50 pm | permalink | comments[5]

Saigon Bound

October 30, 2009

    We are travelling to Vietnam particularly in Ho Chi Minh(Saigon) by Tuesday next week. Last week in Phnom Penh we met a US couple who didnt like Saigon very much because they said the War Memorial brought back memories that they didnt want to be reminded again (Vietnam War).

I heard that the Vietnamese are very happy people. Maybe much like Pinoys. We also forgave the Japanese about the atrocities they have committed during the Japanese War.  

We dont expect to see awesome structures like Angkor Wat in Ho Chi Minch but as we were told Vietnam is a gastronomic adventure.

Saigon here we come/

Posted by bettytlopez at 11:47 pm | permalink | comments[6]

BUDGET PLANNING FOR OUR SIEM REAP TRIP

October 19, 2009

 

There is this wrong notion that only rich people travel Although that maybe true in the past nowadays, anyone can travel.

With the numerous budget airlines and price wars and sale programs going on….one cant resist the offers of travelling at the least costs.

 Our trip tomorrow in Siem Reap,Cambodia is an example.

Out tickets costs  S$220 for two($110 each). We had booked at Golden Temple in Siem Reap where our room is US$22/day. for our 3 days 2 nights trip we estimate that we will spend about $50-$100 for food. Our entrance to the Angkor Wat Temple is US$20 and our departure tax is US$25.

Estimated costs for the entire trip(without shopping) is therefore about  US$500-US$800 for two persons.

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 9:08 pm | permalink | comments[5]

Memories Through Facebook

September 19, 2009

hi! my maiden name i carmelita “milette” baring. i was wondering if you and i were classmates in st. joseph’s college qc?

 Hi Betty,
Are you Apha Delta from UP?

IThese are the 2 messages I received today in Facebook.
I  cant believe it…2 people I know from long time ago just sent me messages thru fb asking me whether I am the girl they knew.
 
 My sis in a UP sorority sent me a msg & Im so happy to hear from her.
 
And this is for the books, a classmate i had in elem school at St Josephs College QC asked me whether we were classmates b4..& we are. I can still remember her name but not her face anymore. Wonders of Facebook really!!!

Posted by bettytlopez at 10:59 pm | permalink | comments[6]

Cost of Migrating to Canada

August 10, 2009

This is to document the activities and expenses one has to go through and spend when you are planning to migrate to Canada.

First of all these expenses that I am going to list down are expenses without the cost of any consultant or legal attorneys that some would engage to apply for them.

These are the expenses for going to Canada in Singapore dollars

1) Application fee-                                                                          S$2,051.8

2) Cost of medical fees (xray etc for 2 adults and 2 children)  -S$599.8          

3) Cost of NBI /Police Clearance and Photos                              S$180.00

4)  Cost of Issuing Visa for 2 adults at $599@                         S1,200.00

5) Other Miscellaneous costs(transpo,xerox etc)                          100.00

ESTIMATED /ACTUAL TOTAL EXPENSES                          S$4,131.00 or about P137,500

In our case, we received our notice to do ou medical examination a 1st step for issuance of our permanency visas exactly 3 years

after we submitted our application.

We still have to spend for our air tickets and our relocation which will amount to probably around S$10,000-20,000 or about P500,000.

Its not a joke to migrate to Canada. 

Posted by bettytlopez at 12:09 am | permalink | comments[6]

Unbelievably Cheap Air Tickets

August 2, 2009

   With the advent of budget carriers in Asia,nowadays you dont need to be rich to be a jetsetter.

 

Look at the bargain air tickets that I was able to snap for my family:

 Jetstar Perth Airtickets two way- S$469 for 4 or about S$117 (P 3,904)/person. This is for our Sept 6-11 trip.

Jetstar Siem Reap tickets - S$110 or P3,670 /person for our October 20-22 trip.

Tiger AIrways Airtickets for Saigon S$76 or P2,536/person. This for our November 3-5 trip to Ho Chi Minh City.

Air Asia airtickets for Bali (the cheapest) at S$40 or P 1335 each.This is for our Dec 1-3 trip

It pays to monitor prices of air tickets once in a while specially if you are planning for vacations.You can enroll in Message Alerts from these budget airlines so that they will notify you when they have special promotions.

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 12:20 am | permalink | comments[4]

Touring Austral Asia

July 27, 2009

 Now that we are about to embark on a transfer to Canada (sometime next year), Asia will be a far off continent that would be too expensive to make a trip to.

Some of my friends and relatives who have moved to the US and Canada have not been outside the US and Canada and taking a vacation is an expensive indulgence .

So now that we are still here, I have lined up trips for my family to visit till end of the year.These are not expensive trips since there are a lot of budget airlines in Singapore:

Sept 6-11,2009    PERTH AUSTRALIA- we will spend our 15th years anniversary,Niles Bday which falls in September and the one week school holidays of the kids here.This is our first time to Australia

 October 20-22  SIEM REAP,CAMBODIA -me and hubby will visit the ancient Angkor Wat temple, a once in a lifetime trip that might not repeat itself. So while we are still 2 hrs away from Cambodia and still in Singapore,might as well visit one of the Ancient Wonders of the World.

November 3-5 HO CHI MINH,VIETNAM - This is the first time that we will be using our Marriot Timeshare plan, we will be staying gratis at amore at the Renaissance Marriot hotel just infront of the Mekong Delta River in Saigon(Ho CHi Minh City)

December 1-3 BALI  -This will be a dream for me to see Bali and we are staying at the Ritz Carlton Bali (Marriot). AT last I will visit this place that I have heard so much of.

Except for our Australia and Siem Reap trips, our hotels in Bali and Vietnam will be through Marriot Vacation Club.

At least pag nasa Canada na kami, we have already toured the exciting places in Asia

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 3:38 pm | permalink | comments[6]

Sino Sya?

July 9, 2009

SIno Sya, was my first reaction ng bigla na lang nagsolo etong mukhang instik na e2. Biro mo bida siya agad

.Anyway, her name is Judith Hill

When the all-star Michael Jackson memorial ceremony in Los Angeles came to an end today, millions of fans watching the event became curious about the woman who sang lead on Jackson’s “Heal the World.” The mystery singer was Judith Hill, a Pasadena, California-based vocalist who was recruited to be one of the backup singers for Jackson’s This Is It! concerts at London’s O2 Arena. Hill wowed the crowd and the millions watching around the world with her rendition of the Dangerous song, but her identity had most viewers baffled — the “We Are the world” and “Heal the world” performers weren’t identified in the handouts at the Staples Center or on any other documents distributed to the press.

According to the bio on Hill’s official Website, “Judith was born in Los Angeles and raised in a family of musicians. Her mother is an immigrant from Japan who met her father in a funk band in the 1970s.” Hill is described as discovering her love of music at an early age while growing up in a deeply religious household, which led her to attend the Christian university Biola University in Southern California

Posted by bettytlopez at 4:20 pm | permalink | comments[6]

Its Back to School in Singapore

June 26, 2009

  Unlike in the Philippines were schools are extended, in Singapore, the schools are now monitoring the travel of all their students. If the child has travelled to any of the H1A1 affected areas, they will be given a Leave of Absence for 7 days from the date of their travel till school opening which is on June 29,Monday.

This morning I received a  call from Niles teacher and he was advised to stay home till June 30 since we arrived from Bintan Indonesia only on June 24.

These efforts to contain the spread of the flu epidemic is laudable but I dont think it would really be  so much effective since as proven in the Philippines it has affected children who had never even travelled overseas and has spread to the community at a rapid phase.

 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 10:35 am | permalink | comments[3]

Happy Fathers Day

June 21, 2009

Posted by bettytlopez at 10:57 am | permalink | comments[3]

Adam Lambert-The Next American Idol

April 29, 2009

FILE - In this April 21, 2009 file photo released by Fox, contestant AdamWith the exception of Carrie Underwood, there has never been a time except now that there emerges early in the contest a sure winner.

This year Adam Lambert will surely win.I am willing to bet on it.

The top two will be Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert

Posted by bettytlopez at 2:19 pm | permalink | comments[3]

FLIGHT BARGAINS

March 6, 2009

Lately there had been a lot of airticket bargains online. It seems that airlines are just trying to fill up their capacity to survive.

Jetstarasia has launched noontime bargains(11-2pm).Just by logging on during these hours, fantastic bargains on airtickets are  at stake.

Airasia has launched also zero fares for trips to Indonesia. I bought our plane tickets for Bali at an unbelievable S$40 roundtrip.Just imagine that. It is even cheaper than going to Malaysia by bus.

Travel to and around Asia is getting cheaper but still nobody is travelling now adays.

Bali.jpg

Now is the time to travel , just surf for your cheap tickets online.

bali0702.jpg

Bali here we come!!(this December) 

 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 11:33 pm | permalink | comments[4]

Boracay is one of the 44 Must Visit Places in 2009

January 16, 2009

The New York Times has come out with a compelling list of 44 Places where one should go in 2009 and Boracay Islands is one of them. However it is a bit annoying that the write up said that Boracay might be the next Phuket?

Please go to this website and click on the recommend button for Boracay so that we can promote our very own

Posted by bettytlopez at 10:32 am | permalink | comments[3]

Nygel School’s Open House

January 10, 2009

We are back in Singapore after two weeks in Manila. We terriby enjoyed our Boracay trip and now I can make a judgement that Boracay is much much better than Phuket.

Today January 10, was Nygels schools’ Open House. Assumption English school located in Upper Bukit Timah is the nearest Catholic school from our residence and it was Nygels choice for his secondary school.

We met all his teachers ,the Principal and all faculty heads. In addition we were given a report of each childs learning profile(meaning an assessment of his study habits and style).

It is such an active  and dynamic school that after the briefing we were recruited to be members of the Parent Support group. I met a lot of Filipino parents and also other foreigners whose childrern are studying in the school.

The principal also informed the parents that the new website of the school http://www.assumptionenglish.moe.edu.sg has just been launched.

Nygel will be spending four years of his adult life in this school and I am happy he has chosen this school.He is in good hands. 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 4:56 pm | permalink | comments[3]

Phuket versus Boracay

November 22, 2008

I should not be comparing these two resort places since I am Pinoy and therefore I should favor Boracay over Phuket. But I would like to compare these two popular beach destination for the very purpose of knowing which one is really a better destination.

We are set to go to Phuket by November 28 and to Boracay on Dec 21. But let me tell you off the bat what  I have noticed when searching for hotels in these two places:

Hotel rooms in Phuket are much much cheaper than those in Boracay.

We are staying in Sugar Palm Karon Resort  in Phuket.

A two night stay costs me only S$142 in this hotel

 

In comparison, at Boracay it costs me S$172 for the two nights accomodation we have secured fromAlta Vista de Boracay(this price is soft opening price) 

 

Sugar Palm Karon Pool

 

 

 

 

 

Alta Vista De Boracay Infinity Pool

I shall get back to you about comparison in food, entertainment and cleanliness factors after our visit to these places.

Posted by bettytlopez at 3:28 pm | permalink | comments[3]

How Hotel Reviews Help

November 7, 2008

If are visiting a plAce for the first time it helps to get the opinion of other travellers who have visited it. In termsof choosing hotels I have always relied on websites like Yahoo Travel and Trip Advisor since they carry reviews of actual travellers like me.

 

The HK Hollywood hotel is one of the best family hotels we have stayed in

 

If you want my unbaised opinion of hotels I have stayed in, click on this link,  I dont get paid for doing the reviews. I just want to help fellow travellers to get a good idea of what they are paying for.

Posted by bettytlopez at 1:52 am | permalink | comments[3]

Staying in 3 of the Worlds Largest Hotels

October 31, 2008

   I have stayed in 3 of the Worlds Top 15 Largest Hotels namely: FIrst World Hotel(1st) in Genting,Malaysia and two Vegas hotels: Excalibur ( 7th) and  Monte Carlo(14th) and I can assure you that being big doesnt necessarily mean the best service.

 First World Hotel: We have stayed in this hotel thrice of the 5 times we have visited Genting.The rooms are small and dont have airconditioning since it is quite cold in Genting. The bathrooms are small and it always takes us 2-3 hours to check in specially on school holidays and week ends. The check out however is facilitated by key drop boxes. The lobby is big and quite impressive. The lifts are fast and plenty for each floor.

The breakfast however is very basic but the place is an all in one theme park,shopping, entertainment and hotel complex.

Excalibur Hotel:Hubby and I stayed in this hotel in 2005 and since we booked via internet our check in was very fast. I think most Vegas hotels have fast check in and check out services.

The breakfast and dinner buffets in this hotel is very extensive and we were wondering what they usually do with so much food left overs every night.

The lobby of this hotel is a little bit dark since its supposed to be a castle., I am not particularly fond of the interior though but its good waking up to a good view of a Disneyland like castle. 

MontecarloVegas. I stayed in this hotel in APril 2008 together with my 2 best friends and our check in and check out is quite fast. However during our visit there was a lot of construction going on around this hotel and there is a very noisy club at the corner of the hotel.

 

These are the top 15 largest hotels in the world (2007 list)

1. First World Hotel, Malaysia - 6,118 rooms
2. MGM Grand, Las Vegas - 5,690 rooms
3. Ambassador City Jomtlen - 4,631 room
4. Luxor, Las Vegas - 4,408 rooms
5. Mandalay Bay (Inc. The Hotel), Las Vegas - 4,341 rooms
6. The Venetian, Las Vegas - 4,027 rooms
7. Excalibur, Las Vegas - 4,008 rooms
8. Bellagio, Las Vegas - 3,993 rooms
9. Circus Circus, Las Vegas - 3,774 rooms
10. Flamingo, Las Vegas - 3,565 rooms
11. Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu - 3,386 rooms
12. Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas - 3,349 rooms
13. Mirage, Las Vegas - 3,044 rooms
14. Monte Carlo, Las Vegas - 3,002 rooms
15. Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas – 2,956 rooms

Posted by bettytlopez at 11:59 pm | permalink | comments[3]

AIR ASIA CANCELS OUR JB-MACAU FLIGHT

October 11, 2008

When I opened my email last Friday, I had to think for awhile since the message was about “Macau Flight Cancelled”. At first I  thought that Air Asia decided not to fly to Macau anymore but when I opened the email, it said…..

We regret to inform you that your flight(s) has been cancelled.
Here are the details of your cancelled flight(s):
Booking Number UNN5AA
Flight No Departs Time Date
AK 610 Johor Bahru (JHB) 07:00 12 Mar 2009, Thursday
AK 611 Macau (MFM) 11:05 17 Mar 2009, Tuesday


We apologize for the inconvenience caused and would like to offer the following options as compensation:
1. Fare reimbursement in credit shell for future bookings (valid for 3 months)
  OR
2. Reroute via Kuala Lumpur* (LCC Terminal) to Macau on the nearest
available flight
  * Please note that no extra cost will be charged for rerouting of flights to/from Macau via Kuala Lumpur
from/to Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu or Kuching

My only complaint about this message is that they gave me a Malaysian number which was very hard to reach. Since I am very familiar with online reservation I searched for their Singapore number.

After being placed on hold for about 15 minutes I was lucky enough to get hold of their representative who immediately gave me an option of flying to KL and taking our connecting flight to Macau from there.

The same will be true on our return trip.We fly to KL and connect to JB. The only problem is that there is only one flight going to Johor Bahru(JB) from KL and it leaves KL at 7:50 in the morning . This meant that we had to stay overnight in KL.

Now my only problem is getting our hotel for the overnight stay in KL. We are landing at and departing from  the KLIA-LCC and not the KLIA(KL International AIrport) 

Any suggestions?

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 8:30 pm | permalink | comments[12]

A Spunky VP Candidate Palin

October 3, 2008

The VP Presidential campaign in the US has shifted from Obama/Mc Cain to its Vice Presidents.

Just because a VP former beauty queen Palin is in the limelight everyone has their eyes on her.

She reminds me of Punky Brewster (the 70s small kid actress in her own TV show) 

'I'll betcha'See that wink?

Soleil Moon Frye Punky Brewster 8x10 Photoand this!

The hell where did Mc Cain get this woman…choosing a VP is hard enough…why choose her?

Posted by bettytlopez at 6:49 pm | permalink | comments[3]

WE ARE GOING TO PHUKET

September 14, 2008

I had a last minute decision to buy our tickets to Phuket. Tiger Airways was offering flights at 0.04 cents (exclusive of taxes). The sale is only till  midnight tonight and I purchased our tickets at 11.15.

The cost of our tickets(4 of us) is like the cost of our tickets from Manila to Boracay which is rather cheap. Phuket is only 1 hour and 30 minutes away from Singapore and we will just spend the week end there during the kids school holidays.

Good timing since November is Loy Krathong month in Thailand. Maybe we will have a chance to see the Krathongs and lanterns being lit in the skies of Phuket. 

 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 11:24 pm | permalink | comments[3]

IT PAYS TO BOOK UR VACATIONS EARLY

September 13, 2008

By December we are off for our annual vacation to Manila. Normally I book way way in advance to get discounts on flights and hotel.

This year part of our annual vacation plan is a trip to Boracay. I had already booked a flight in May for our Dec 21-23 flight to Boracay. Just to give you an idea of how much we have saved. This is our total package plan breakdown:

Tickets via Cebu Pacific for 2 adults and two kids                                                 P19753.00

Current cheapest Cebu P ticket for Dec 21-23 flight o Boracay                           P26,136.32

 SAVINGS                                                                                                                         P6,383.32

Hotel Bookings

Current Charges for Alta Vista Dec 21-23 (two nights)                                   S$184.00

Our payment booking made in May 2008                                                            S$172.00

SAVINGS                                                                                                                       S$12.00(P390.00)

TOTAL SAVINGS                                                                                                             P6773.32 (S$208.00)

This amount is more than enough for our food and shopping. So if you really want to save up on that vacation, better book early or when there is a sale online.

Happy trip!

Posted by bettytlopez at 11:10 am | permalink | comments[7]

PINOY JOB HUNTERS IN SINGAPORE

September 6, 2008

 The most recent Diaspora of Pinoys in SIngapore is a revelation to me…more and more College graduates and mostly graduates from far flung colleges and universities are coming here to this small country to find work as sales personnel, restaurant and hotel attendants, maids(yes maids) and bargirls.

In the 70s,80s and 90s most Pinoys who get jobs in Singapore are oftentimes Engineers,Architects ,Maids and nurses but now almost every nook and cranny of the airport ,Orchard Road shops and Singapore restaurants have Pinoys working as bus boys, helpers, salesperson etc. I am very sorry to observe however that the new crop of job seekers dont know how to speak English well.

I have yet to see graduates from well know universities like UP,Ateneo, La Salle trying to find jobs in SIngapore probably because they easily find jobs in Manila. A lot of those coming here now are coming  from lesser known colleges that sometimes I have not even heard of.

It makes me feel a sense of pity for these young Pinoys accepting jobs that dont really study for. Why complete a course in Accountingm, Commerce etc when you will just end up folding t shirts in Lucky Plaza.

Sabi nga ng isang Pinay”OK na rin yon at least I get paid about S$1,200 or approximately P36000″. The entry level jobs now for people in the service industry(hotels,shops etc) is S$1800 but since there is a lot of competition for these jobs Pinoys normally accept jobs even at S$1000-$1200.

If you are one of those who cannot find a job in  Manila and want to find a job here be ready to go job hunting for about 2-3 months.For this periood you need to pay about $300-400/month for bedspace, about $10 daily for transpo and food and sometimes a one month equivalent of starting pay if you got a job through and agency.

Good luck to your job hunting!

 

 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 11:24 pm | permalink | comments[5]

My Free HP Mini Note 2133

August 13, 2008

The HP 2133 Mini-Note has a great design. Everyone in our office agreed that it has a solid chassis and attractive look. The brushed aluminum and plastic casing is durable and hides fingerprints well. It also keeps the Mini-Note lightweight, only weighing in around 2.86 lbs as configured. It has that sleek business appeal, but is targeted toward students as well. One look at the Mini-Note and I can see why. I mean who wouldn’t want an inexpensive subnotebook to tote back and forth to class, especially one that pretty much has a full-size keyboard.

I got this for free yesterday from Starhub in exchange for signing a two year Maxonline internet connection at $56/month. See reviews of the Mini note below
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HP didn’t go wrong with the design. The 8.9″ WXGA display is beautiful and easy to read. It puts off a glare though because of the protective coating. Nothing about the Mini-Note feels cheap. I didn’t notice any signs of flex and enjoyed its good variety of ports and features. The Mini-Note also comes with different hard drive options, so hopefully this might help in the performance section considering the Mini-Note sports a VIA C7-M ULV processor.


(view large image)

As I mentioned above, the keyboard is almost full size. It is 92% of a full sized keyboard, which is quite impressive for such a small form factor. It is much more comfortable to type on compared to the Asus Eee PC. The touchpad can be awkward though, especially the placement of the right and left click buttons. As you can see from the pictures below it does have a neat power and Wi-Fi switch that lights up and changes from blue when on to orange when off.


(view large image)

(view large image)

 

While some consumers might be upset at the absence of a DVD drive in the Mini-Note, that’s just one trade-off you have to make for such a compact design. In truth, there simply isn’t any room left inside the Mini-Note after everything is said and done. The photo below shows that the only empty spaces inside the chassis are where the hard drive and ExpressCard slot are located.

Posted by bettytlopez at 12:27 am | permalink | comments[7]

Happy Birthday Singapore

August 8, 2008

 

This is the 2008 NDP(National Day Parade) theme song as sung by Hady Mirza, the Asian Idol and last years Singapore Idol Winner.

Tomorrow is a big day in Singapore….its the 45th National Day Parade celebrations.

Posted by bettytlopez at 4:19 pm | permalink | comments[4]

Ive Been Pre Occupied

August 2, 2008

I didnt realize I would be celebrating 2 years and a half of blogging in this space by August 18( a day after my natal day).

 So I decided its time I change some portions of my layout.

The headshot is my favorite photo taken at the Hotel Del beachfront in San Diego while the background (how I wish it was Boracay) was taken from my kids photo during low tide in Bintan,Indonesia.

I have not updated this blog as frequent as my multiply and blogger sites. I also have a work multiply site.

So if you dont find me here yu can visit any of the 3 sites that I am maintaining.

Lately I’ve been preoccupied with work, tummy treatments and surfing(the net). OK time to sleep!!! 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 1:40 am | permalink | comments[4]

NDP 2008 Voucher Booklet Contents

July 7, 2008

Aside from the NDP goody bag, the other most valuable item in the goody bag is the voucher booklet…if one gets lucky you can get some good bargains from the booklet.

See the rest of the free items here

This year lets see what is actually being given free or at discount from the generous sponsors of the Singapore National Day Parade (NDP) 2008:

GROCERIES:

1) Anlene Milk- $1.00 off

2) 7-11 - 50% off 2nd cup of slurpee- 70 cents

3)Giant-  P5 for $70 purchase

4) House of Gurmet-savings of 66 cents

5) Seagift-10% discount for min of $30

6) Old Chang Kee$2.2 for $8 min order

7) Modestos -30% discount

8) Pizza- $26.8

9) Brown Rice Congee-$5 discount

10) Carrefour -$5

11) Mr Bean- Buy 1 Get 1 Free- $5.3

12) Tony Roma-20% discount

13) NTUC-$2

14) Gelare-Complementary Fondue  $14.8

15)Yummy Crab- 10-20%

16) New Zealand Natural Ice Cream- Buy 4 pay 3

17)Hock Lian-$2

18) Jia Xiang Mee-$2

ROUGH ESTIMATE OF SAVINGS- around $100 if you buy all

BEAUTY TREATMENTS (Total Costs- No savings )

1) Solitaire Facial/Massage-$19

2) Angel SKy Facial Massage/$19/$29

3) Free Diamond Skin Polisher/SLimming

4)  Yu Nam Hair Treatment-$10

5) London SLimming-$12 slimming session

6) NY Skin-$18 skin ttreatment

7) Spa Massage- $23

8) Lifespa Facial/Massage- $28/$28

EXPENSES(Discounted Rates) around $150

Other Good Deals-

Free rides on Singapore Flyer for children and August Bday Celebrants for Aug 2 & 9

30% off for Bird Park Admission tickets (max 5 tickets)

50% Off for Night Safari Admission tickets (max 5 tickets)

15% discount at Popular Bookstore

Hush Puppies $43 off for $180 purchase

$5 voucher for O2 Skin

Genting Hotel Rates at $43

City Gas $10 voucher

The Rest are non essentials

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by bettytlopez at 10:44 pm | permalink | comments[2]