Showing posts with label 2017 travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017 travel. Show all posts

Monday, January 29, 2018

Vietnam and Cambodia Travel Diaries: Full Day Mekong Delta Tour via Klook

4:54 PM 2017 travel , 35mm 0 Comments

Before ending the year 2017, I was fortunate enough to take a 6-day vacation to visit Vietnam and Cambodia. We only had two days to spare for Vietnam, one day to cross over to Siem Reap, and three days for a temple run at Cambodia.

First day in Vietnam was spent at Mekong Delta, where we booked our tour via Klook for only Php 684.50 each (inclusive of lunch). Here's our Klook voucher breakdown:

Original Klook Voucher amount: Php 1, 434 (2 pax)
Klook Discount (first Klook booking): less Php 65
Total Voucher Amount:  Php 1, 369

Note: Look out online for Klook promo codes before checking out to save a few bucks!

The meet up location for Klook voucher users for this tour is at 220 De Tham Street. Our hotel (Luan Vu Hotel) was just a few walks away from this location, but since I am very good in following google map directions (queue sarcastic tone), we still went the wrong way and even went as far as crossing a busy intersection. For visual reference, here is where the the Klook meet-up is located:

Landmark: In front of Starbucks Coffee Shop
Make sure to arrive on or before 7:45 AM

Once you arrive at their meet up location, they will check your voucher and escort you to where the bus is parked & located. The bus leaves around 8:15 AM, but try your best to be punctual and make the 7:45 AM meet up time at 220 De Tham. In case you miss the Klook representative at the meet up location, try catching up where the bus is parked before they leave.

Landmark: Where all the tour buses are usually parked, in front of a movie theatre, opposite Pizza Hut

First Stop: Vinh Trang Temple



Vĩnh Tràng Chùa is a Buddhist temple near Mỹ Tho in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. It is one of the best-known temples in the region

The main attraction of this place are the three buddha structures: the Standing, Sleeping, and Laughing Buddha.

The Standing Buddha (Amitabha) *Shot using Ilford HP5 Plus*
The Laughing Buddha *Shot using Ilford HP5 Plus*


The Sleeping Buddha *Shot using Ilford HP5 Plus*

Second Stop: Mekong River Cruise



The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the world's 12th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. 
As you cruise along the river, the tour guide will give some historical facts about Mekong river and get a glimpse of some islands (both habited & inhabited) that benefits greatly from the river. The cruise is not that long, around 15-20 minutes top, then you will get off at one of the islands for lunch.


Lunch is inclusive in our Klook voucher, a set meal which consist of a light rice, meat, and soup. We were provided with complimentary soda because the air con of the first bus broke down and we had to transfer to another bus. No biggie actually, but a free soda is a FREE soda, so kudos to Klook :)

Third Stop: Coconut Candy Factory


During the stop here at the Coconut Candy Factory, they showed us how candies are made from scratch. From how coconuts are chosen, to how the meat are grinded, cooked, and prepped to become a sweet candy. Everything is hand made, from the harvesting of the coconut down to the packaging.

One of the highlight was when the tour guide allowed us to hold & carry the factory's pet python. I don't know if I should feel bad that they have the snake captured here but I can see that the snake is already comfortable and used to different people carrying & passing it around.

Fourth Stop: A Canoe Ride through one of the waterways of the Mekong River


Four people can fit into each canoe. This canoe ride is inclusive of the tour we booked but be ready with your tip money. Personally, I don't mind giving tip to these guys as for most of them, this is their only source of income. The fact that you can afford to spend money to travel, giving a small tip surely would not hurt.

Fifth Stop: Bees, some fruits, honey tea, and a musical serenade

Aside from the python, the tour guide also allowed us to hold a bees hive.



After the bee lecture, they started serving our light snack of fruits and honey ginger tea. As we enjoy eating, drinking, and chatting with our tour mates - a group of local band serenaded us with a Vietnamese folk song.



Thoughts:

  • I'd say for the minimal fee we paid, the tour is worth the price. The places we visited plus the free bottled water,  inclusive lunch and snack is definitely a good deal. For my first Klook activity, this is a definitely a thumbs up and will be looking forward on booking another activity with them!
  • Our tour group had two guides, one was for English-speaking tourists, while the other was for the Japanese-speaking ones. The English tour guide, for me, was kind of hard to understand. I would have extra appreciated the tour and the places we visited had I fully understand most of the information he was sharing. But nonetheless, he was very accommodating and nice so no biggie but something to improve on.
  • They immediately called in a new bus when the first bus we rode had a busted aircon. They even gave us free soda for the inconvenience of transferring to another bus. 






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Sunday, December 17, 2017

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Monday, May 15, 2017

Reminders when Applying for an Australian Tourist Visa 2017

6:25 AM 2017 travel , Australia 0 Comments

I have plans to visit the land down under so we went to VFS at Ecoplaza Building in Makati to submit our documents to apply for an Australian Tourist Visa (Subclass 600).

 Aside from checking directly on their site the documents required for this application: http://www.vfsglobal.com/australia/philippines/, there are also a ton of blog posts where you can read about the requirements. I've listed below what I recently submitted & what to take note of:

Required Documents

➥Form 1419 

1. Make sure to use black pen or if you are not keen on writing anymore, you can just edit the PDF file & print like what a normal, lazy and millennial person would do.
2. Paste 1 passport-size photo
3. No need to enter N/A for blank fields

➥Subclass 600 Checklist form

Same with Form 1419 except no need to paste or attach a passport-size photo


➥Xerox copy of my NSO-certified Birth Certificate

See my post about the different ways of getting your NSO-certified birth certificate.

➥Manager's Check

1. Most preferably from either BPI or BDO but you can get it from any bank as long as its a commercial & not a rural bank. You need to have an existing/active account with the bank before you can request one.
2. As of this writing, payable amount should be Php 5,300. Note that amount indicated on the check must be in PHP
3. The Pay to the order of value should be addressed to Australian Embassy. They will not accept your check if it states otherwise.
4. Depends on the bank, but BDO charges Php 50 per check. You have the option to either pay it in cash or debit it from your account.

➥Xerox copy of my Passport pages

1. Make sure to xerox the front, back and all pages with stamps and visas on it.
2. If you have an older passport with stamps and visa, xerox copy that as well even if it's already expired. 

➥Xerox copy of ITR

➥Xerox/Printed copy of Payslip (1 month)

➥Bank Certificate

There is no recommended amount but remember that they ask for this information so they can be assured you can sustain yourself financially while you are traveling to their country. So depends on how long your stay will be, make sure your bank account - at least for the visa application - is enough for your day to day activity in Australia.

➥Latest copy of my credit card statement 

Make sure it indicates the current credit limit

➥Invitation letter & other supporting documents from your contact in Australia

1. My friend provided us with a Statutory Declaration (which serves as an Invitation letter) stating that she will be responsible for our stay/accommodation in Australia. 
2. Statutory Declaration form can be downloaded here. 
3. Additional documents provided was a xerox copy of passport, copy of visa grant, school IDs, receipts, etc. 

 Basically for Visa Application, you just need to prove that 1. you have the financial capacity to visit their country during your travel dates and 2. you have no intention of overstaying & will definitely be back to your home country. So any other documents you can provide to help you on this will help.

Submitting Documents

Note: We applied & submitted via the VFS office and not directly to the Australian Embassy. It usually speeds up the process but you still have the option to apply directly or to the AU Embassy.

 1. You can have the option of either scheduling an appointment via their site or go there directly and queue as walk-in. 
2. Upon entering the VFS office, there are specific lanes for each country of visa application, for Australia, it's the first lane on the left after the entrance.
3. After logging in and taking a queue number, you will be asked to enter another room (just beside the first counter) and wait for your number to be called. If you scheduled an appointment, you can go directly to counter 1 or 2.
4. Aside from the xerox copies that you will submit, its best to bring the original documents as well just in case they have questions. For us, they didn't even bother to check our original documents or passport.
5. On the manager's check, they will ask you to write down your name & passport number at the back. 
6. You need to pay a  processing fee of Php 637.00 (additional cost if you opt to subscribe to their SMS update).
7. Wait for the receipt & make sure to check if the name & email address to where they can send the VISA is correct.

 The actual result is expected to arrive in a month but there instances when it can only take 3 days or 2 weeks to receive the result. Mine took 2 weeks and happy to say that it was approved :) Australia issues a label-free visa so you'd have to constantly check your email with the visa grant notice attachment. Make sure to print the visa grant or have a soft copy on your phone as you will need to show this at immigration.
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