How to choose a Mobile WiFi Device for a Family of Six: A Mom's Review of the ZTE MF 65

How to choose a Mobile WiFi Device for a Family of Six: 

A Mom's Review of the ZTE MF 65

If you have four kids like I do who are heavy users of the Internet for school work, you'll understand what it means not to have Internet for the past 12 days. I subscribed to plan 1995 of PLDT's mydsl to get speeds of up to 3 mbps. But on July 22, exactly as Pnoy (President Aquino) was delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA), our dsl line was cut off. PLDT explained that they're doing a nationwide speed enhancement. I complained that they should have warned their subscribers about it since they have previous knowledge that this will occur. It's not as if it's an emergency repair of some sort. As of this writing, our dsl line has not been restored.

Anyway, this is not about my PLDT complaint. It's finding an alternative to my dsl WiFi connection. As an emergency measure, I activated my broadband plug it stick but it requires my kids to take turns using it. With four kids who need to accomplish assignments and submit it online at edmodo.com and coordinate with classmates on Facebook for projects and group work, taking turns with the plug it is not feasible for long periods of time. So I found this great mobile WiFi device that suits our needs. If you're in a similar situation like us, this may be helpful to you.

So what did I look for in a mobile WiFi?

1. It should be unlocked. 
 

REASON: If the mobile WiFi device is unlocked, you can use any broadband SIM of any network operator and choose the one with the better signal at your location. Even when you're in a different country, you can use the device by simply inserting any local broadband SIM.

2. The range of the device signal should reach at least 3 rooms in the same floor.

REASON: In our case, the master's bedroom, girls' room and boy's room is located in the same floor. We all do our work in our bedrooms so at the very least, the mobile WiFi signal must reach all of us. I was thinking of purchasing a Smart Pocket WiFi when the ZTE was out-of-stock in the first computer shop I asked, but the salesman informed me that the signal's range is for one room only.

3. I should be able to connect at least 6 devices.

REASON: Since we're six in the family, we must be able to connect at least one of our devices. Most mobile WiFi devices I found online can only connect 5 device so I had to do more research to find a WiFi device that can connect more than 5 devices.

4. I should be able to charge it in the car, aside from a wall socket and a laptop.

REASON: Although my initial purpose for finding a mobile WiFi device is as a temporary alternative to my disconnected DSL, if it can be charged in a car, it will increase its mobility and use.

ZTE MF 65 FEATURES I LIKED

1. It is unlocked.

2.The WiFi signal of the device reaches 2 floors of the house: the 3 bedrooms on the 2nd floor, until the dining room and living room on the first floor.

3. The maximum number of devices you can connect is 10, and you can set the limits to lower than 10 by going into your device's IP address.

4. You can charge it in the car, the laptop and the wall socket because the cable included is a USB cable with a separate wall charger. To be able to charge it in the car, you have to buy a USB car charger.

5. The speed is fast enough for browsing. That's more of the broadband SIM issue than a device issue. The fastest I experienced is 3mbps in the mornings but the signal fluctuates. The lowest speed still allows reasonable browsing speed.

COMPLETE OFFICIAL SPECS (taken from villman.com)

Manufacturer : ZTE

Model : MF65

Unlocked : Fully unlocked. ready to use with global internet providers

Network Bands : 3G-4G HSPA+/HSUPA/HSDPA/UMTS (WCDMA) - Band IV 1700/1900/2100MHz

2G GSM / GPRS / EDGE - 850/900/1800/1900 MHz.

Wi-Fi Standards : 802.11b/802.11g/802.11n

Connectivity Interface : SIM-Card Slot

Data Speed : Download up to 21.6 Mbps, Upload up to 5.76 Mbps

Memory : Micro SD card slot up to 32GB.

Ports : Micro USB

Display : New screen with OLED Display.

Antenna : Internal Antenna. External antenna interface (antenna sold separately).

Security : Wi-Fi Security supported (see details below).

Battery : 1500mAh Li-ion battery. gives up to 100 hours standby

Dimensions : Size: 99.5 x 53.7 x 14mm Weight 75g.

Supported Systems : Windows XP (SP2 or later), Windows Vista, Windows 7/8, Mac OS (10.4 or later), Linux.

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN BOX

1 device

1 usb cable

1 usb wall socket

manual

WHERE I BOUGHT IT

Citylight Computer Shop, SM Marikina Cyberzone

Price: P2990, with free Smart Bro SIM with100 pesos load and 1 year ZTE warranty

UP DILIMAN: Chocolate Kiss Cafe at Night

UP DILIMAN: Chocolate Kiss Cafe at Night

There is this nice cafe at Bahay ng Alumni at UP Diliman, Quezon City, that serves home-cooked meals. It's frequented by students and professors by day. By accident, I visited it at night. I never thought it's a nice place to hang out at night. The ambience is totally different at night, with dim lights and a fantastic duo playing the violin and piano while you quietly dine and enjoy their home-cooked meals.

These are the things I enjoyed most when I dined there at night while waiting for my daughter to finish her meeting:

1. The reasonably priced meals that has a flavor of  a home-cooked meal. 

Below is the sample menu: 

I ordered the spaghetti carbonara

2. The music

I was surprised that there was music at night at the Chocolate Kiss Cafe at night. It can be a venue for a date night for people who want reasonably priced meals and a romantic ambiance . Below is a sample of the music that Royce and Gary played that Thursday night. I actually enjoyed it so I'm sharing it with you: 

Apparently, music is played every Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Below is the schedule I got from their website. Music is played from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM at the Second Floor of the UP Kiss Cafe:

Tuesday:

Bong & Bobot
guitar duet

Thursday:

Gary & Royce
keyboards & violin

Saturday:

Rudy at the piano

Where it is  located

View Larger Map

2nd Floor Magsaysay Avenue, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101

(02) 433 9183 ‎ · thechocolatekiss.com


Other photos of the venue:

At the main entrance, where most cakes are displayed

The inner part of the cafe

The announcement at the front door as to who's playing tonight

Royce and Gary playing at the inner part of the cafe

Food Tripping at UP DILIMAN: The Dynamite at Vinzon's Hall

Food Tripping at UP DILIMAN: The Dynamite at Vinzon's Hall

What is the Dynamite?

The dynamite is green chili stuffed with cheese and few pieces of ground meat, wrapped in lumpia wrapper and fried. The green chili used is the chili used in sinigang and dinuguan, which Filipinos call siling mahaba (long sili) to differentiate it from siling labuyo (hot chili).

This is how they fry it.

The finished product with dipping sauce. 

What's inside: The green chili, the cheese and some ground meat

How much is the Dynamite

One serving of dynamite is 4 pieces for 24 pesos.

My verdict

I took a bite with the dipping sauce and it was a great combination of spice and creaminess. It's like eating spicy cheese sticks. And for 24 pesos, it's a very cheap and filling snack.

Where to buy the Dynamite

At the stall in front of Vinzon's Hall at UP Diliman. It's at the right side of the sloping road leading to the entrance of Vinzon's Hall

This is the stall. You can see at the extreme right is the College of Education building.
At the left side of this stall is the sloping road leading to Vinzon's Hall

A close-up of the stall and their food choices

View Vinzon's

SYDNEY: How to Choose Your Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tour

SYDNEY: How to Choose Your Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tour

Australia is known world-wide as a wine region. If you're visiting Sydney, Australia, the nearest wineries you can visit is located in Hunter Valley. Hunter Valley is around two hours drive from Sydney. 

I'm sharing with you what I discovered as I search for the right wine tasting tour for my husband who's visiting Sydney. You may have different tastes or preferences so I'm sharing with you the options I found so you can find the right wine tasting tour for you.

After looking at all the possible options for a wine tour in Hunter Valley, I realized there are three (3) styles of wine tasting tours that are currently available.

1. FIRST TOUR: Visit 5 different wineries in one day, taste 6-8 wines per winery, then go to a cheese shop and a chocolate shop.

2. SECOND TOUR: In the morning, visit an old and established winery (1850s era) in the Hunter Valley region, taste around 16 wines in said winery, visit the vineyards and see the wine-making process in a working wine cellar, then have in-depth wine tasting lessons with a wine expert. In the afternoon, visit a post 1960s winery, to taste 5 cool climate wines.

3. THIRD TOUR: A visit to the Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary to see kangaroos, wallaby's, emus and koalas, then wine tasting at 3 small boutique wineries, then visit a chocolate factory, cheese shop and local brewery.

If you have an idea what tour you wish to explore, below are more details to help you decide:

FIRST TOUR by  Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tours

Website: http://www.huntervalleywinetastingtours.com.au/

Price per person: $125 internet price

Price inclusive of: round-trip transfers from Sydney (listed hotel and non-hotel pick-up points), wine tasting, cheese tasting, chocolate tasting and gourmet style lunch at Hunter Resort, You cannot bring your own lunch.

Maximum Number of Guests per tour: 14

How many hours: 11 hours (4 hours round-trip travel from Sydney, 7 hours tour)

Itinerary:

MORNING: 6:30 AM pickup at listed hotel and non-hotel pick-up points, stop at a coffee shop for morning stop before Hunter Valley, wine tasting at 5 wineries (6-8 wines per winery), lunch at Hunter Resort

AFTERNOON: Visit a cheese shop and chocolate shop, then return to Sydney by 7:30 PM.

Traveler's reviews: Trip Advisor review link

Who should do this tour: People who would like to taste 30-40 wines from different wineries. They can't inform you beforehand the wineries they will visit because the tour guide decides what wineries to visit only on the day of the tour. Therefore, it will depend on what bus you are assigned to at the time of booking.

SECOND TOUR by Wine Country Tours of Richard Everett

Website: http://www.winecountrytours.com.au/

Price per person: $150 

Price inclusive of: round-trip transfers from Sydney (pick-up at your hotel or accomodation), morning coffee, tea and baked goods at Pepper's Guest House, all wine tastings. Lunch at your own expense.

Maximum Number of Guests per tour: 2-8 guests

How many hours: 9 hours (4 hours round-trip travel from Sydney, 5 hours wine tour and tasting)

Itinerary:

MORNING: 8:00 AM pickup at your hotel or accomodation, stop at a coffee shop for before going to Hunter Valley, wine tour and tasting lessons at Tyrell's (16 wines to taste), lunch.

AFTERNOON: Visit Hungerford Hills to taste 5 cool climate/high altitude wines. 5:30 PM return to Sydney

Traveler's reviews: Trip Advisor link

Traveler's blog showing how the tour was conducted: Hunter Valley with Wine Country Tours by Wine Monologues dated April 2013

Who should do this tour: Those who want an in-depth tour conducted by wine expert Richard Everett, which includes visiting and walking through the vineyards of Tyrell's, one of the oldest wineries in Hunter Valley, seeing the wine-making process at a working wine cellar, and having private sit-down wine tasting lessons conducted by a wine expert.  This  includes tasting 16 wines from Tyrells (1850s era winery) and 5 high altitude or cool climate wines from Hungerford Hills (post 1960s era winery).

THIRD TOUR by Kangarrific Tours

Website: http://www.kangarrifictours.com/

Price per person: $ 99

Price inclusive of: round-trip transfers from Sydney (pick-up is at designated locations), morning tea at Walkabout Wildlife Park, 3 wine tastings, cheese tastings. Lunch, chocolate tasting and beer tasting is at your own expense. You can bring your own lunch.

Maximum Number of Guests per tour: 13 guests

How many hours: 10 hours

Itinerary:

MORNING: 8:00 AM pick-up at designated locations, morning tea at Walkabout Park to meet kangaroos, wallaby's, koalas and emus. Visit Hunter Valley chocolate factory. Visit 2 wineries and a cheese shop. Lunch

AFTERNOON: Visit a 3rd winery and a brewery. 6 pm return to Sydney

Traveler's reviews: Trip Advisor link

Traveler's blog showing how the tour was conducted: Hunter Valley Wine Tour with Kangarrific Tours by Diary of a Yorkshire Expat

Who should do this tour: Best tour if you have kids with you. They allow kids 7 years old and above to join the tour. The price is the same as the adult price.

LAGUNA: Visit Calamba and Los Banos with Kids

LAGUNA: Visit Calamba and Los Banos with Kids

This is my itinerary for a day trip to Calamba to see the Rizal shrine followed by a trip to Los Banos to visit the University of the Philippines Los Banos campus.

This itinerary is best done on a Sunday because there's less traffic on a Sunday. The timing is important because it ensures you avoid traffic at Calamba exit and the SM Calamba intersersection.

This itinerary presumes you're using a private vehicle for this trip.

What you need to do prior to this trip:

1. Call the Rizal Shrine to book a guided tour with film showing.

Why call: The guided tour and film showing is not offered to walk-in visitors. The shrine do not employ regular tour guides. They request tour guides from the city hall who are actually students who are on-the-job training. So you need to request in advance for this service. 

To see the film, they also need a technician on hand to operate the equipment. They also turn on the air-con in the audio-visual room in advance if they know what time you're arriving. 

Contact Nos.: (+63)(049) 834 1599

2. Call Max Restaurant, Monte Vista Resort to reserve tables for lunch with your group.

Why make advance reservation: Since this restaurant is situated beside a resort, I presume it's always full on a Sunday. So to make sure you have a table when you arrive, make a table reservation. If you're going to be late in arriving, call to inform them that you're on the way so they continue to hold the reservation. 

Why this location: This restaurant is along the National Highway between Calamba and Los Banos. If you're going to Los Banos, this restaurant is near the boundary of Calamba and Los Banos, and therefore along the route of your destination from the Rizal Shrine, which is Los Banos.

Why this restaurant: This restaurant gave fast and very good service to our group of 19 people. After a tiring and warm stay at the Rizal shrine, we arrived with a private room already reserved for our group. Within 10 minutes of giving our order, the food was served to us. The quality of food was consistent with our expectations. Other amenities of this restaurant worth mentioning: cool air-conditioning  and very fast free WiFi. 

3. Call Lety's buko pie to reserve buko pies for your group.  

Why reserve buko pie: If you're going to Los Banos in the afternoon, the buko pie tends to run out. So to be safe, reserve buko pie in advance to ensure you have buko pies set aside for your group.

Contact Person at Lety's Lopez Avenue: Josephine Siapo (+63)(929-7255070)

MY ITINERARY

7:30 AM:

Leave Quezon City area

My tip: By leaving early, you avoid traffic at the Calamba exit and the SM Calamba crossing, which is the intersection of JP Rizal Street and the National Highway

9:00 AM:

Arrival at Rizal Shrine

My tip: Make sure to go to the Rizal shrine in the morning to avoid heavy traffic in this area on Sunday afternoons. This is the tip I got from the museum personnel of the Rizal shrine.

Opening hours of the Rizal shrine: Tues - Sun: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Contact numbers: (+63)(049) 834 1599

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/rizal.shrine.calamba 

Address: J.P Rizal corner Mercado Street 

How to go to the Rizal shrine: The entrance of the Rizal shrine is along JP Rizal street. The property is located at the corner of J.P. Rizal and Mercado Street. It's across the St. John the Baptist Church.

You need to go there through Burgos street and make a left turn at Mercado Street then a left turn at J.P. Rizal street because Burgos and J.P. Rizal streets are one-way.

View Larger Map

Alternative Route if there's traffic at the Calamba exit and SM Calamba crossing: Make sure to turn right at the San Vicente Ferrer Road along Real Road after the Calamba exit.

View Larger Map

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM:

Mass at St. John  the Baptist Church

Why see the Church: This is a century-old church where Jose Rizal was baptized.

For mass schedules: http://www.mass-schedules.com/catholic-church/748/saint-john-the-baptist-parish.html

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM:

Guided tour and film showing at Rizal shrine

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: 

Lunch at Max Restaurant, Monte Vista Resort

Location:

View Larger Map

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM:

Visit Lety's Buko Pie along Lopez Avenue, across 711

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM:

Travel from Los Banos to Manila

Where to pass to avoid traffic at the junction of Lopex Avenue and the National Highway: Take the Jamboree Road and go out the National Highway where the Los Banos municipal hall is located.

View Larger Map

How much you should budget for this trip:

Gas: around 20-30 liters of gas, or P800 to P1200

Toll: from C5 to Calamba exit: P218 per way, or P436 roundtrip

Meals: P150-250 per person depending on what you will get at Max Restaurant

Pasalubong and souvenirs (optional): The price of Letty's buko pie is P160. We bought books, shirts and ref magnets that amounted to almost 1000 pesos.

Tips for guides (optional)

Tips for waiter (optional)

Donation to Rizal shrine (optional)

Map of the Itinerary

View Larger Map

 A    Rizal shrine (birthplace and residence of Jose Rizal) 

 B    Max Restaurant, Monte Vista Resort 

 C    Lety's Buko Pie 

 D    UP Los Banos

Where to Find the International Airports in the Philippines: Summary of Airlines and International Destinations

Where to Find the International Airports in the Philippines:
Summary of Airlines and International Destinations

What's so interesting about finding out where the international airports are located in the Philippines? Knowing the international airports in the Philippines will allow foreign visitors to go straight from their home country to the nearest island or tourist spot of their choice without passing by Manila. The same holds true the other way. It will allow residents to go to the airport nearest their hometown, without passing by Manila.

It used to be that the only access to the Philippines was through Manila. But it's good news that there are other points of entry other than Manila. The safest is to choose Manila but there are other options now other than passing by Manila

The term "international airport" in this post is loosely defined as an airport that has flights to international destinations.

Below is a list of international airports in the Philippines,  the international airlines flying into the airport and international origin or destination of airlines flying into the airports.

LUZON ISLAND

Manila International Airport

You can fly directly from almost all international destinations to Manila. This is the main airport of the Philippines. It's safest to fly into this airport because this airport has access to all other international and domestic airports in the Philippines. 

Laoag International Airport

You can fly from Honolulu to Laoag (via Manila) via Philippine Airlines.

Clark International Airport

You can fly directly from the following international destinations to Clark:

1. Hongkong: via Cebu Pacific and Southeast Asian Airlines
2. Bangkok: via Cebu Pacific and Southeast Asian Airlines
3. Singapore: via Cebu Pacific and Southeast Asian Airlines
4. Macau: via Cebu Pacific
5. Kota Kinabalu: via Southeast Asian Airlines

VISAYAS ISLAND

Kalibo International Airport

You can fly directly from the following international destinations to Kalibo:

1. Hongkong: via Cebu Pacific 
2. Busan: via Zest Air, Philippine Airlines
3. Seoul: via Zest Air
4. Shanghai: via Zest Air
5. Taipei: via Zest Air, Mandarin Airlines

Cebu International Airport

You can fly directly from the following international destinations to Cebu

1. Hongkong: via Cebu Pacific, PAL Express, Philippine Airlines operated by Cathay Pacific Airways 
2. Kuala Lumpur: via Cebu Pacific 
3. Singapore: via Cebu Pacific , Tiger Airways
4. Taipei: via Cebu Pacific 
5. Seoul: via Philippine Airlines, Zest Air, Asiana, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air
6. Tokyo: via Philippine Airlines
7. Busan: via Air Busan, Korean Air

Iloilo International Airport

You can fly directly from the following international destinations to Iloilo:

1. Hongkong: via Cebu Pacific
2. Singapore: via Cebu Pacific

MINDANAO ISLAND

Davao International Airport

You can fly directly from Manado, Indonesia to Davao via Wings Air

Zamboanga International Airport

You can fly directly from Sandakan (Sabah) to Zamboanga via PAL Express.