All About the CLUB MANILA LOUNGE at NAIA Terminal 1

August 6, 2018


All About the CLUB MANILA LOUNGE 
at NAIA Terminal 1

The Club Manila Lounge at NAIA Terminal 1 is a pay lounge, which means you can enter this lounge for a fee. But if you are a holder of certain credit cards (like the American Express Platinum Card, the Unionbank Platinum credit card and the BDO Diamond Rewards), you can enter it for FREE. 

The American Express Platinum credit card allows you to to bring a companion for free and to avail of lounge use for unlimited number of times. The BDO diamond rewards card also allows you to bring a companion for free, but is limiting lounge access to up 6 times in a calendar year. 

Fee for entry (if you are NOT a holder of the cards mentioned above):

750 pesos


Where it is located and how to get there: 

After immigration and security check, and before Starbucks 

Immediately after security check, you can see Starbucks from afar.
The stairs going to Club Manila lounge is on the left, before Starbucks.




The stairs going to the lounge.
There is an elevator you can use on the left side of the stairs.


This is on top of the stairs on the left side.
This is where the elevator is located.
You can also access the Club Manila massage services here.


The right side on top of the stairs leads to Club Manila lounge.


Hours of Operation:

24 hours, 7 days a week



Procedure for Entry:


1. Present your qualified credit card and your boarding pass to the counter in front, or pay the fee if you don't have a qualified credit card.


2. Sign the logbook.


3. Then you are allowed to enter the lounge.

Inside the lounge


As you can see there are plenty of chairs and tables to choose from.


What You Will Find in the Lounge

FREE FOOD

It's breakfast so there's scrambled egg and sausage.
My brother said that at dinnertime they serve rice and a viand.
Other food: nachos, bread, cup noodle soup, kropek with vinegar, bread

Scrambled egg (really good!)
Spicy sausage

Nachos
Bread with marmalade and strawberry jam

Creamy corn soup (I also like the corn soup)
Crackers with vinegar

Cheese Sandwich
Salad
Nachos

Seasonal fruits

Cereal


FREE DRINKS

Brewed coffee

Beer
Wine

Softdrinks
Sparkling water
Juice
Bottled water


FREE WIFI 


WiFi Speed



CLEAN SHOWER AND TOILET

There is only one shower each in both the male and female bathrooms.




There are 2 toilets in both the male and female bathrooms.


MY TIP: 

Make sure to arrive at the airport AT LEAST THREE (3) hours before your flight to be able to use this lounge. One (1) hour is spent checking-in and going through immigration, an hour and a half (1 1/2) to eat at the lounge and the remaining 30 minutes is for boarding.


CONTACT NUMBER: (+63) 877-1109 (loc. 3021)

CHECK OUT UPDATED PHOTOS AS OF MARCH 2020 HERE


TOKYO: Where to Find The Best Matcha Ice Cream Within Your Budget

August 5, 2018

TOKYO: Where to Find The Best Matcha Ice Cream Within Your Budget


The best matcha ice cream for me is one that delivers full-bodied matcha flavor in every bite. I found two that's worth the trouble of finding.

711 Premium Ice Cream Bar
(203 yen)

If you want cheap but good quality matcha ice cream, buy this premium bar. You can find it at almost all 711 stores because the ice cream brand is 711. Both the ice cream and the coating has matcha in it so it delivers full bodied matcha flavor in every bite.

Where to find it: 

At the ice cream bar section of any 711 store.

Operating hours of 711: 24 hours




Both the coating and the ice cream has matcha in it.



Tea and Spoon Nanaya Aoyama Gelato
(370-700 yen)

If there is one matcha gelato that is worth finding, this is it. You can choose how much matcha you want in your gelato by choosing level 1 - level 7 of matcha intensity in your gelato. For the matcha lover, the level 7 matcha gelato is guaranteed to satisfy all the matcha cravings you'll ever have. 

Where to find it:

If you're visiting Shibuya, this is the best time to find this. Check out this link for location: https://goo.gl/maps/qwUnmtBN9eN2

Operating hours of Tea and Spoon: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM (closed on Tuesdays)


The front of the store

Above: Price list
Below: The different gelato flavors available in the store

The price of 1 scoop of matcha gelato number 7 is 570 yen.
The price of 1 scoop of all other flavors is  370 yen.

If you want 2 scoops of gelato, and 1 scoop includes number 7, the price is 650 yen
If you want 2 scoops of gelato, without number 7, the price is 470 yen.





Matcha gelato numbers 5, 6 and 7


Matcha gelato number 7 is described as Italian gelato with powdered green tea

A closer look at matcha gelato number 7. Yum!!!

Click the photo to see the full panoramic view






My-Step-by-Step Guide on How to Apply for an Australia Tourist Visa Online

July 31, 2018

Image result for australia flag


My-Step-by-Step Guide
on How to Apply for an Australia Tourist Visa Online
Without Appearance

What I realized while applying for an Australia Tourist Visa online:

1. You can apply for a tourist visa purely online.

This means you can execute everything online: from the application, to the payment, until receipt of visa grant. You don't need to personally submit your application and documents, appear for biometrics scan or submit your passport for stamping of the visa. The visa grant is emailed to you.

2. If your documents are complete, your visa may be issued as early as 3 days from submitting your application.

I submitted the visa application on a Monday, we received the grant letter by email 3 days after, which is on a Thursday.

3. If you answered yes to any medical question, you will be required to undergo a health assessment in any of the panel of physicians accredited by the embassy of Australia.

If you are located in the Philippines, you can check out the accredited panel of physicians here:

I underwent my health assessment at St. Lukes Global City. The results was uploaded to my account a week after completing my health assessment. The visa officer issued my visa grant next day.

4. Depending on your circumstances, the Australia embassy can give a multiple entry tourist visa valid for one year from date of issuance.

From other blogs, I read that the Australia embassy usually issue a 6 month multiple entry tourist visa. So they usually advise you not to apply for a tourist visa earlier than 6 months from the date your tour ends. But if you have sufficient documents to justify giving you a one year tourist visa, they do give out a one year tourist visa.

My advice, therefore, is to furnish them as much evidence as you can to show that you are a legitimate tourist, that you have sufficient ties to your country that will make you return, and that you have enough funds to visit Australia multiple times. After completing the application form, they only tell you to that the required documents to be uploaded are: (1) passport data page (where you have your name and other information displayed), (2) passport photo, (3) proof of travels to other countries such as visa and stamped pages of expired and valid passports. But i furnished them with other documents too, especially financial documents.


My-Step-by-Step Guide on How to Apply for an Australia Tourist Visa Online

STEP 1. Identify the visa class you are applying for.

If you are going to Australia as a tourist, you should be applying for Visitor Visa (subclass 600).

STEP 2. Get an email address.

You need have an email address. This is where the visa officer will send all communications and the visa grant letter if and when they issue you a visa.

STEP 3. Open an ImmiAccount.

An Immiaccount is your online account with the Department of Home Affairs where you can apply for a visa online. It allows you to fill up the application form online, upload the documents to support your application, pay the visa fee and track the progress of your application.

You can open an Immiaccount at https://online.immi.gov.au/lusc/login.

If you will travel together in a group, such as a family or friends, you can process your application together by indicating that you wish to have group processing. This means you can log in at one account and submit your application through that one account.




STEP 4. Fill up the application form.

The application form is around 14 pages long so you can do it in a span of several days. Just remember to save what has been filled. You can edit any information that you placed in the online application form as long as you don't click SUBMIT.

Since I plan to travel to Australia multiple times, I placed 2 travel dates: one 2-week visit in Melbourne and on a different date, another 2-week visit to Sydney.

STEP 5. Gather your documents.




What I submitted from the REQUIRED documents are:

a. Passport photo

I requested a soft copy from Great Image so I can upload it to my Immi account.

b. Travel Document

Scanned copy of the passport data page (the page where your photo is and where your personal information is written)

c. Evidence of previous compliant travel

  • Visas issued (I submitted a scanned copy of ALL visas issued to me, valid and expired.) 
  • Arrival and departure stamps in valid passport (I submitted a scanned copy of departure and arrival stamps of the past 5 years. But it's recommended that you submit departure and arrival stamps in relation to the visas issued to you.)
  • Arrival and departure stamps in expired passports (It's recommended that you submit departure and arrival stamps in relation to the visas issued to you) 
  • Travel history (I made a list showing arrival and departure dates of all countries I visited just to make it easier for the visa officer to understand my travel history; the list is in table form: in the first column is the country, and the second column are the arrival and departure dates. Then I uploaded it as a word file)

Although just RECOMMENDED I still submitted the ff. documents:

a. Evidence of planned tourism activities

Travel itinerary (Since I plan to travel in 2 different dates, I submitted 2 itineraries: one for Melbourne and another for Sydney.)

b. Evidence of personal financial capacity

As you can see from the photo above, there is no list as to what evidence should be given. It is up to you to decide what evidence to give to show personal financial capacity. These are my suggestions:

  • Certificate of employment, or your husband or wife's certificate of employment if you are unemployed. If you're submitting your husband or wife's certificate of employment, you need to submit a copy of your marriage contract. 
  • Other evidence to show where your income is coming from.  
  • Income Tax Return 
  • Bank certificates from the bank containing the ff. information: account type, current balance, account opening date, 6 months average daily balance
  • Time deposit certificates 
  • Credit card statements 
  • Land title
  • Car registration

STEP 6. Scan your documents and give it a title.

You need to give your documents a name like bankstatement.jpg instead of sticking with the number it is automatically assigned after scanning like 2024.jpg. It will be easier for the visa officer to make sense of your documents if it's already described in the title of the file.

STEP 5. Upload your documents under the appropriate heading or category, as shown in the photo above.

You are limited to uploading only 60 documents.

STEP 5. Read your application again before submitting.

Remember that when you click SUBMIT, you cannot edit your application form anymore.

STEP 6. Submit and pay the fee online.

The fee is 140 AUD + 1.37 credit card surcharge.

STEP 6. Wait for the results by email.

If the visa officer does not request further information, he will email the result 3 days after submission of the application. In our case, my husband received a visa grant 3 days after submission of the application form. He was given a 1 year multiple entry visa.

In my case, I was required to get a health assessment, which I immediately did, so that a week after my husband received his visa, I received mine too.

COMELEC NEW VOTER REGISTRATION: My Guide and Tips

July 24, 2018



COMELEC NEW VOTER REGISTRATION:
My Guide and Tips


The Comelec Voter Registration started again last July 2, 2018 and my advice is to register early.  Yesterday,  I brought my daughter to the Comelec thinking that the line will be short since the next elections will be held next year but I was mistaken. A lot of people are already registering to vote. But unlike the last time I brought my elder kids to Comelec for voter registration where the whole process took us 2 hours to finish, this time it took us only 40 minutes. So you still save time when you register early.


Comelec Resolution on Voter Registration:

So here are MY TIPS to help you save time:


1. Download the application form at the Comelec site so you can fill up the 3 copies in advance before you arrive at COMELEC.

Make sure to print it BACK TO BACK. The form I downloaded online was not printed back to back so my daughter filled up a new application form at the Comelec office.

Application form download: 
http://www.comelec.gov.ph/php-tpls-attachments/VoterRegistration/ApplicationsForms/CEF1_Revised.pdf

2. Photocopy the required documents for registration prior to arriving at the Comelec office.

In my daughter's case, the documents she presented are her birth certificate and school ID. They attach the photocopy of these documents to the application form before submitting it to the election officer.

To those who didn't download the application form online, the Comelec do not give you the application form until after you give them a photocopy of the required documents. So there will be additional delay while you find a xerox machine to photocopy the documents if you don't photocopy the documents before you arrive at the Comelec office

3. Bring a ballpen.

You might need it in case you miss filling up some items in the application form. It will save time looking for one when you need it.

PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMENTS:

This is at Comelec Antipolo. But I presume it's almost the same in all other Comelec locations.

In my daughter's case, they didn't ask for proof of billing.
But I brought a PLDT bill in my name just in case.
The purpose of this requirement is to prove residence in the area.
Since the bill is in my name and my name is in my daughter's birth certificate, I would think that they will conclude that my daughter lives in the same place I live.
But, as I said  they didn't ask for proof of billing  







STEP 2. This is where you present the photocopy of your documents.
They need to verify if your name is found in the database.
Then they give you the application form, which you need to accomplish in 3 copies.


STEP 3. This is where you present your filled up application form.
They check if all items have been filled up and then they forward it to the Office of the Election Officer.


STEP 4-7. These steps are accomplished inside the Office of the Election Officer
You wait until your name is called before you enter.

You receive an acknowledgment receipt after accomplishing all steps.


This is the flow of registration


SM NORTH EDSA TRAVEL TAX PAYMENT COUNTER: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

July 20, 2018


SM NORTH EDSA TRAVEL TAX PAYMENT COUNTER: 
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Filipinos traveling abroad are required to pay travel tax. To avoid long lines at the travel tax counter inside the airport, you can choose to do the ff:

1. Pay online and incur an additional 78.35 pesos fee per person as web admin fee and credit card surcharge

Check out my post:

OR

2. Pay at one of the government's travel tax counters. 

I chose to visit the SM North EDSA travel tax counter because they don't charge a processing fee in addition to the tax, unlike when you pay online. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING:

1. The original passport of the traveler

I didn't ask if a photocopy is accepted. I just brought the original passport just to be safe. In case you can't bring the original passport of the traveler for various reasons, you can ask them at this phone number: (632)533-5026 whether they will accept a photocopy. 

2. A printout of your ticket.

They need the printout because the receipt must indicate the flight number and ticket number/booking reference number.

3. Cash

They say they accept credit cards. But when I paid at the counter, the credit card machine is offline. So I think it's better to bring cash. 


Travel tax rates


OPERATING HOURS:

Mon to Fri: 10:00 AM to 6pm


LOCATION:

At the basement of SM North EDSA Annex, beside the bowling center. 

The entrance of the travel tax counter is at the right. 


The TIEZA travel tax counter is within the SM government service express center. 

The travel tax counter is at the right near the door or entrance of the center. 

The Government Express Service Center offers other services like LTO driver's license renewal, SSS payment  etc.