Tag Archives: manila

Manila To Mt Makiling In A Whirlwind

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Continuing my historical report of our trip to the Philippines in Sept 2010.

We ran off the Cebu Pacific flight from Puerto Princesa and got a taxi to the bus station from where we found a bus headed to Banos.  I had asked the driver to let us out someplace we could get a taxi/jeepney to Mt Makiling.  In retrospect, we shouldn’t have tried to rush this trip but I was hopeful of seeing Guaiabero Parrots.

The place we stayed seems to have been renovated and renamed so here is their current website.

The trails go through some lovely rainforest habitat and there were other birders there who pointed the way to where they had seen Guaiabero Parrots earlier.  We hurried along and could hear parrots in the distance as it was near roosting time but they were too far to see.

We were hoping for more birding in the morning but got rained out.  We gave up and went back to Manila as it was our last day in the Philippines.

I got the Crowne Plaza on an IHG Pointbreaks for a bargain 5000 points!  It’s located in this mall which has a huge food court.

One last dip in the pool after a hectic adventure.

After leaving the Philppines, we flew on Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong to London with a rare op-upgrade to business class on HKG-LHR!  We had done a status challenge back when they were still free and held Platinum.  From there, we flew Iberia to Madrid, then to our final destination, Tenerife for our first time attending the World Parrot Conference at Loro Parque.

Priority Club Pointbreaks – Gems For Eco-Travelers

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Once you get into the miles and points games, you begin to get more familiar with the deals that come out periodically and how to best take advantage of them.  One of the best is the Priority Club Point Breaks.   These come out roughly every second month and allow you to redeem only 5000 points for any of the designated hotels.  While most of the hotels are in cities and may appeal more to business travelers, there are often bargains to be had in resorts and more exotic destinations.  Priority Club is a great program for non-frequent travelers as they have many promos throughout the year to get points.  I will be sharing these opportunities as they come up.  If you are in a hurry and have no points at all, you can buy Priority Club points or get their Chase credit card.  More details HERE.

Here’s a few from the current list that can benefit eco-travelers and are valid through 31 January 2013.

Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria – You will pass through here if you are headed to Palawan to see the endangered Philippine Red-vented Cockatoo.  I did this trip in 2012, you can read my article.

Intercontinental Jakarta Midplaza – Although Aussies will usually access the birder’s paradises of Seram and West Papua via Bali, people coming from Europe and North America are more likely to connect in Jakarta to an Indonesian domestic flight.  Seram has the Moluccan Cockatoo and more!  West Papua is full of fascinating birds including many species of Birds of Paradise, Palm Cockatoos, Eclectus Parrots, several Lorikeets, Pesquet’s Parrots and more!  I will be there next year!

Holiday Inn Suva – You would be passing through here several times if you are using the domestic flights or ferries to get to Taveuni to see Red-throated Lorikeets or Red Shining Parrots; or Viti Levu to see Masked Shining Parrots.

Hotel Indigo San Jose Forum Costa Rica – Useful if you are traveling to Costa Rica to head out to Carara National Park for Scarlet Macaws, Selva Biological Reserve to see Great Green Macaws or Savegre to see Resplendant Quetzals.

Remember, whenever you economize on gateway hotels, you have more money to spend on staying in nice eco-lodges and supporting the local economy!