This would be my first ever "travel blog" (so to speak).
Last October 17-18, 2011, Kay and I had the privilege to attend the ALLT National Conference, which was held at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City. Aside from the tough times we had trying to prepare and "polish" our presentations, finding our way going to Bacolod was equally challenging (but it was fun!). The internet proved to be a very helpful source of information for novice travelers like us.
Similar to how we got to Pagudpud, Kay and I also browsed a number of websites and travel blogs to get some directions and tips. This post is somehow a "pay back" to those very helpful information that we got.
AIR TRAVEL
Despite Kay's occasional persuasion for us to travel by sea, I was able to insist that we travel by plane since it would save us a lot of time and energy. It was our first time to travel this far so I kinda "played" with Cebu Pacific's Online services. (Check out http://www.cebupacificair.com/ and try playing with it too! It's not that complicated.) At first, I thought this online service is limited to those with credit cards but I have discovered that we can buy tickets even without credit cards; we can pay through ATMs or through bank deposit. However, since we're not so good in this online and traveling thing yet, we didn't get the best price for the airfare. Nevertheless, it was a learning experience. Getting cheaper tickets requires booking early, a lot early!
From NAIA, we landed at the New Bacolod-Silay Airport.
LAND TRAVEL
At Silay Airport, travelers would be greeted by the famous Ilongo smiles. We didn't have a hard time figuring out where the shuttle services were. FX and Vans going to Bacolod city are available right outside the airport, so there's no reason to be lost. (TIP: If you can't speak Ilongo like us, better speak in English. A professor from USLS mentioned that Ilongos prefer speaking in English than Tagalog since English is their second language and Tagalog is usually L3 or even 4.)
Fares range from 100-150 PHP ($ 2-3)
From Silay, we were dropped at ROBINSON's Mall. Yeah...malls look the same so you wouldn't feel any tinge of "alienation". From there, we asked a guard who was very generous enough to instruct us that we should take the Jeep (which looks like bigger multi-cabs that we see in Buendia-Mall of Asia) with the signboard "SHOPPING-LIBERTAD". Jeepney fare is just 7 pesos since it's just near.
From Robinson's we were dropped at a Jollibee (and had our breakfast there...duh). USLS is just a few steps away from that Jollibee store.
BACOLOD-MANILA
Going back was a bit more difficult. Taxi is very expensive, about 400 PHP ($9.5) so we decided to take the more difficult route. We took a jeep going to SM and walked to the FX/Van Terminal. We arrived just on time because the FX and VANS have a time schedule. 4:20 PM is the second to the last trip and 6:00 PM is the last trip (according to a travel brochure handed out to us). Our flight was at 7:00 PM so we squeezed ourselves into the 4:20 van (luckily, we were sexy!)
We arrived at the Silay airport earlier so we still had time to talk and reflect about our brief but memorable stay in Bacolod. We weren't able to roam around the city (and visit the Ruins, poor us!) but we definitely learned a lot!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
PALpak
Epic Failure beyond proportions
This is how I would describe the management style (if there's any) of the Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier.
I don't know so much about the technicalities of the on-going cases against them (mostly labor-related). But by mere extraction of information from newspapers and television covers, I have reached a conclusion that there MUST be something wrong with the current PAL management led by Jaime Bautista, its president.
PAL's mass lay-off, which added about 2,600 souls in the bowels of unemployment purgatory, has been deeply criticized by different labor groups because of the injustices that PAL inflicts to its loyal and long-time employees. PAL, in turn, argues about the "legality" of their move because if it will not make such drastic measures, the flag carrier might eventually clip its wings for good.
However, there are a lot of questionable angles in PAL's decision. As an outsider, I would like to know whatever happened to their profit. If in case PAL is getting beaten up by other airlines, like Cebu Pacific, I ask, "Is mass lay-off the win-win solution?" Didn't PAL consider the ripple that this will create? A ripple that in the long run, will turn into a tsunami that would wash them out totally. I ask, "What did they do to keep up with the competition?" Certainly, removing regular and long-time employees is never the best answer.
An even more questionable move is the decision to outsource labor. A clever move on "profitability" but not much on sustainability, I guess. One PALEA member asked a very important question during one of the rallies, "Kami matagal na sa aming trabaho, yang mga yan, tuturuan pa. Gaano nila kaalam ang magiging trabaho nila?" He makes a lot of point. If these outsourced personnel will be on a contractual basis, how sure is their efficiency, accuracy, and most importantly, customer relations skills?
These are just some of the questions that popped out of my head upon observations. I don't really know so much about management and all that. But yesterday, I am sure that again PAL's managers mismanaged. A lot of domestic flights were cancelled to the dismay of a number of passengers. They said they weren't even notified. One passenger who was interviewed said she was from Bataan and came all the way to Manila only to find out that her flight was cancelled. PAL could've sent a simple text message informing her about the cancellation and saving her from the hassle. Apparently, PAL didn't mind at all. They just posted announcements printed in bond papers. Duh.
If this is a demolition job to finally end the decades-long flight supremacy of PAL, it's working. More and more passengers start to choose other airlines.
Epic Failure beyond proportions, translation: PAL-pak
This is how I would describe the management style (if there's any) of the Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier.
I don't know so much about the technicalities of the on-going cases against them (mostly labor-related). But by mere extraction of information from newspapers and television covers, I have reached a conclusion that there MUST be something wrong with the current PAL management led by Jaime Bautista, its president.
PAL's mass lay-off, which added about 2,600 souls in the bowels of unemployment purgatory, has been deeply criticized by different labor groups because of the injustices that PAL inflicts to its loyal and long-time employees. PAL, in turn, argues about the "legality" of their move because if it will not make such drastic measures, the flag carrier might eventually clip its wings for good.
However, there are a lot of questionable angles in PAL's decision. As an outsider, I would like to know whatever happened to their profit. If in case PAL is getting beaten up by other airlines, like Cebu Pacific, I ask, "Is mass lay-off the win-win solution?" Didn't PAL consider the ripple that this will create? A ripple that in the long run, will turn into a tsunami that would wash them out totally. I ask, "What did they do to keep up with the competition?" Certainly, removing regular and long-time employees is never the best answer.
An even more questionable move is the decision to outsource labor. A clever move on "profitability" but not much on sustainability, I guess. One PALEA member asked a very important question during one of the rallies, "Kami matagal na sa aming trabaho, yang mga yan, tuturuan pa. Gaano nila kaalam ang magiging trabaho nila?" He makes a lot of point. If these outsourced personnel will be on a contractual basis, how sure is their efficiency, accuracy, and most importantly, customer relations skills?
These are just some of the questions that popped out of my head upon observations. I don't really know so much about management and all that. But yesterday, I am sure that again PAL's managers mismanaged. A lot of domestic flights were cancelled to the dismay of a number of passengers. They said they weren't even notified. One passenger who was interviewed said she was from Bataan and came all the way to Manila only to find out that her flight was cancelled. PAL could've sent a simple text message informing her about the cancellation and saving her from the hassle. Apparently, PAL didn't mind at all. They just posted announcements printed in bond papers. Duh.
If this is a demolition job to finally end the decades-long flight supremacy of PAL, it's working. More and more passengers start to choose other airlines.
Epic Failure beyond proportions, translation: PAL-pak
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