Our first time in Japan (Feb28-Mar6) was during Coronavirus outbreak. It was such a risky trip and we know we have to be very cautious. We brought alcohol, sanitizers and masks everytime we go out of the hotel and make sure that we do not touch our face. Also, we only remove our masks whenever we have to eat and we wash our hands as often as possible. Despite all these efforts that we make, we really enjoyed our stay in Japan and we'll definitely go back once we all overcome this outbreak (now a pandemic). Just want to acknowledge Japan's efforts to contain the spread of the virus, we actually felt safe there and we were able to go back home safely. Stay safe everyone!!

May 18, 2020

It is supposedly the last 2 weeks of our community quarantine. We have now transitioned from Enhanced Community Quarantine to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine. To make things simple, in "modified" version some businesses can already operate but public transportation is still not available and going out of our homes is still discouraged unless we are buying essentials or going to work for the businesses that are already allowed to operate.

At this time of the year, we should have been enjoying the last few weeks of summer. Families should be gathering and planning their own annual swimming - this is usually a Filipino thing. Well not for all but for most.

I miss going out.

I miss planning for my vacation.

I miss the beach.

I miss my friends and officemates.

I miss my other half.

I miss planning for my birthday.

I miss all the simplest things we tend to neglect before the lockdown.

We miss our daily routine. We miss our normal lives before this pandemic. But as they say, this would now be our new normal. And I hope this is for the betterment of all living being.

Amidst all that's happening to the world right now, we need to remember to be "Resilient" in this trying times. We should come out of this pandemic stronger and better. I know we would survive this pandemic. It might seem hopeless for us now. But sooner or later this too shall pass... and Filipinos will come out of this with a smiling face, as always!

Here is my "Second Bloom" to brighten up your day a bit. Let's all stay strong, we can fight this war together!

2. Note that if you are a registered fan in the fans club of your kpop group then you'd have a priority access to buy tickets, if not then you'd have to wait for the general sale. You can check the schedule at Melon. In my case, below is the schedule for the Got7 Keep Spinning World Tour.


3. Check your desired seats ahead of time once the concert you are eyeing is already posted at Melon and make yourself familiar on how to navigate the website. This is very important cause everything happens FAST.



4. FINALLY, book your desired seat/s! Some fans buy the front seats (closest ones to the stage) on the first day of the concert and buys the upper/lower box on the second day to be able to fully appreciate the choreographs.

Yup, you might be asking.. they accept Philippine issued credit card. Isn't that amazing?!
5. You'll realize after all the preparations you won't be able to get the front seat/standing section ticket. Cause they were all booked from the prior days. What I did was to check it on the next days in the hopes that someone might cancel. Then one morning, I got my ticket. FINALLY. AT THE STANDING SECTION. ❤ uwuuuu

That's my story!!!

But then I had to buy another ticket for my sister on the same section that I got from Melon. But it is so impossible to get one for her in the same section that I got. So I posted on Twitter that I am looking for a ticket.. I used a hashtag in Hangul. I just copied it from some Korean fans that are looking/selling tickets. Then an HK Ahgase messaged me.. and she is selling a ticket for the same selling price in Melon. And what's best is that the ticket she is selling is in the same section as what I got for myself at Melon. What a blessing!!! :D

It was really a stressful journey to be a Kpop fan lol. just kidding.


If you have questions just leave a comment and I will try my best to respond as soon as possible. Thank you for reading this post with lots of grammatical errors. XD Not really a good writer just want to share. lol

Love you all!!! xx ❤


Disclaimer!!!
Photos from Google search
GIFs from https://giphy.com/

UPDATE UPDATE!!!

Maybe you guys are wondering how was the concert right? I have created a new post showing a vlog that I created on this special day. Click the link below!

https://tophotographyandbeyond.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-day-with-me-june-16-2019-got7-keep.html

Ever since I was a child, plants have always had a special place in my heart. It might be because I grew up in the province and my grandparents were both into planting and agriculture. However, when I had to go to Manila for college, my love for planting was slowly forgotten since there is not much land and soil here in our house.

Until one day, my officemate was going to Baguio and he was asking what "pasalubong" I want. Or if there is anything that he could buy for me. So I thought of a succulent. I can't remember why I thought of it back then but maybe it was Mother Nature calling my green thumb to start planting again.

Then I have another officemate who saw the plant that my other officemate bought for me from Baguio as "pasalubong". He asked me if I love planting since his wife is also into planting and belongs to a group that plants cactus and succulents. So we had a quick chat about plants and I asked him to invite me to that group.

So from that day, my love from plants came back and I do not know if it will ever stop. Cause right now I am looking for ways to find a place where I can plant more cactus and succulents.

Okay, back to my first bloom. :)


Ain't she gorgeous?

I am planning to post my cactus and succulent collection. So please subscribe so you'll get notified!
Thank you!!! xxx

And I am finally doing this...


It is really painful that my family got denied on their Korea Visa application. </3 Up until now my heart breaks. Well anyway it is not the end of the world! Good thing I was able to find a way to cancel and actually get a REFUND for the Airasia promo fare flight that we booked. Here is a step by step guide on how to do it.

1. Go to www.airasia.com.
2. Login to your account.
3. Click Customer Support.
4. Click Email Us.
5. Under Type of Feedback, select Refund.
6. Under Sub Category 1, select Other.
7. Under Sub Category 2, select Voluntary Cancellation.
8. Under Sub Category 3, select Korea Flight ticket.
9. A pop up message will appear upon selecting Korea Flight ticket just like below. Based on this, you will know how much you can refund. Also, refund will be made in the form of direct debit/credit card that was used to pay for the booking.

All refund requests for Korea Flights Booking must meet the following criteria :-

• The flight booking must be for a flight departing/arriving/transferring at South Korea and the refund will be made in the form of direct debit/credit card that was used to pay for the booking.
  - See refund conditions below.
• 100% of the paid amount is refunded if refund request is made over 91 days prior to the date of departure; or
• 90% of the paid amount is refunded if refund request is made between 61 and 90 days prior to the date of departure; or
• 80% of the paid amount is refunded if refund request is made between 31 and 60 days prior to the date of departure; or.

• 70% of the paid amount is refunded if refund request is made between 3 hours and 30 days prior to the date of departure.

Please specify guest(s) name and sector(s) to be refunded in the comment column

10. Input Subject detail for your request. E.g. "Request for Voluntary Cancellation - Return Flight". Specifying that you want a refund for a return flight is important for this request. You may also specify this again on  the Comments section later.
11. Fill out rest of the Personal Details. Note that you can only specify one Flight Number on this request either the departure or arrival that is why we need to specify that we want a refund for a return flight. Don't worry they can track the other flight number under your booking.
12. For the Airline Code it is usually Z2. You can find it on your flight itinerary sent by AirAsia to you via email.
13. So again, on the Comments section please specify that you want a refund for a return flight so that they will refund you for both departure and arrival flight under your booking number. You also need to specify all the names of the guests. This is to avoid longer turn around time if you do not specify everything that they need. As per the call center agent I've spoken to, this request is processed in Malaysia so it might take more than 30 working days for the refund to be processed.

14. Finally, click Submit once you are done!

Bonus Tip:
You'll be needing SWIFT codes for the refund details while fill out the Personal Details section. Please refer to this link for list of SWIFT Codes.

Let me know if you have any other inquiries and if you want me to check cancel/refund process for other airlines as well by commenting on the section below. I'll try my best to answer them. :) Hope this helps you guys!

PS: Credits to the photo owner. Will use it temporarily! Thank you!
 

February 1 (Thursday)

I was so excited to finally submit the Korea Visa Application requirements of my family - mom, sister, cousin. As for me, I don't need to apply as I already have 3 years multiple entry Visa thanks to the promo for BPI Gold MasterCard holders! Click this link for complete details on how you can apply as well. Okay, back to my story.. we've completed all the requirements for Employed and Student Visa category since my mom is currently employed while my sister and cousin are both students. If you want to know which Visa category you belong to and what corresponding requirements are needed per your category, please refer to this link. Fast forward, we were able to complete all the requirements as per their category and I was able to submit the requirements! Yay!!! You will usually be given a some sort of a claim stub if I may call it. Keep this as this indicates when you could claim your passport and that you are authorized to claim the passports (no need for signed authorization letter of the passport owners). So as for my family, I have to claim it after 5 working days.


After 5 long daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaays...


February 8 (Thursday)

I went to the embassy at around 3pm. BTW, Visa application is from as early as 7:30AM - 12:00NN and claiming is from 1:30PM - 4:00PM. When I arrived at the embassy, there were less people than usual. But the Window 2 was unbelievably SLOW. Slow in terms of calling the next person and slow in terms of placing the visas and reasons of denial. I would know since I watched the consul holding a paste tube while maybe sticking the visa. She was also reviewing a bunch of visa applications, while looking at her screen monitor while maybe stapling the reasons of denial to some passports. On that moment I was thinking why on Earth is she only reviewing the application forms on the day of release? I waited so long that day but when my number was finally called I felt relieved cause I thought I wouldn't make the 4PM cut off and I might end up coming back the next day. As I received the passports, I said "Thank You" to the Filipina consul helping the Korean consul because she's obviously delaying everything.

I walked a few steps away from the window before opening the passports. I first opened my cousin's passport and I saw a slip.. reasons for denial slip. Then I opened my sister's and then my mom's. And ALL of them, yes ALL of them got denied for the same reason - "You failed to qualify to the visa category that you have applied for." I was shocked. I really can't believe why. I didn't ask the Korean consul on my window cause while waiting she's so grumpy on the questions coming from Filipinos but not if it is coming from Korean Nationals. I just quietly walked to the Filipino staff there who reviews the requirements before submitting it to the Korean consul. I asked him what is the meaning of that denial reason. He told me, "That's already a consul decision". So apparently, we were not lacking any document. Maybe it's just that the consul thought that maybe we don't have the right to visit Korea and that maybe we are not capable of financing our trip. That's what I have thought. BUT WHY? We've placed more than enough money on my mom's bank account. It is more than the estimated budget that we've written on the application form. I felt betrayed by the country I love the most. I even love it more than my own. But then it would not let us enter for no apparent reason. They won't even dare to let us know what is lacking on our application so we could submit supporting documents. I was really emotional that day. I find it hard to sleep. I didn't even have a dinner. From that day til today I am still trying to figure out how we could go to Korea Visa Free. Because we can no longer reapply, it is already stated on the denial reasons slip that we could only reapply after 6 months.

I've read some blogs that what they did is to send their application forms all the way to Korean Embassy at Cebu. There were instances that they got approved there after being denied in Manila. But when I contacted an agency there, they told me that they already have 3 denied reapplication in Cebu for reason "Previously denied in Manila". Those who got approved in Cebu after getting denied in Manila were lucky, because now, they are already tracking if you've applied and got denied in Manila. SO DON'T TRY! You'll just waste your money hiring a travel agency in Cebu.

After so many researches, I finally gave up. We will just try our luck again after 6 months. I will give an update if we will be approved. Besides Autumn is better than post Winter season. :)

Lessons Learned:

1. DON'T BOOK A FLIGHT BEFORE APPLYING FOR A VISA!!!
2. If you book a flight make sure you can cancel and refund it if in case you get denied. As for us, Airasia luckily offers a refund!!!! Blessing from heaven I found out how to get a refund! I'll post a guide soon. Also, take note that flight booking is not required when applying for a visa.
3. If you book a hotel/guesthouse, make sure there is a free cancellation offered. Best option is to find a cheap free cancellation offer at Agoda. This one is required when applying visa.
4.If you don't want to do the hassle of booking and filing a refund in #2 then, save enough money to buy regular priced flight tickets. It's better to spend more than having this kind of heartbreak. I can't even say Korean word now. Looking at my oppas is a bit of a pain now. Soon, I'll move on. Next time.. better luck next time!!!! T.T

Still sad and grieving.

PS: Credits to the photo owner! Love GD's hair! ♥

Top 1: Iwahig Firefies and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park a.k.a. "Underground River"

The Majestic Rock Formations Inside the Underground River (c) photo owner

The Entrance of the Underground River (c) tophotographyandbeyond

The Iwahig Firefly Watching Ecotourism and Wildlife (c) photo owner

The Mesmerizing Glow of Fireflies (c) photo owner

How Plankton Lit Up the Water at Night (sample photo only)  (c) photo owner The plankton found at Iwahig River were color yellow green the way I remembered them and not as many as shown above. But still you'll be amazed at how astonishingly beautiful the river can be because of these group of tiny marine organisms.

Top 3: Luli Island 

The Long Cream Colored Sandbar at Luli Island (c) tophotographyandbeyond

Top 4: Ka Lui

Ka Lui is a well known restaurant in Puerto Princesa. A lot of tourists eat here be it Filipino, American or Korean. It is one of the cheapest and cleanest art themed restaurant I've been to. And one of the most unique too since they'll ask you to remove your shoes before entering the place. They have a mini locker where you can leave your shoes. I guess they do that so that tourist can feel the homey Filipino tradition. Their comfort room is also SUPERB! Be sure to see it yourself! Now let's talk about their menu. It only consists of a few expertly cooked Filipino dishes. I liked it that way than to be overwhelmed with mediocrity. The price? I think it ranges from 250-350 per dish good for sharing. If you would read the expense summary below I itemized the dishes that we ordered. Try their Sinigang! It is not your typical Filipino sinigang. I hope you'll love it too! One last thing, I think if your bill is Php 1000 and up you'll get a complimentary fruit dessert.  

The Artsy Facade of Ka Lui (c) tophotographyandbeyond

Top 5: Sabang Beach 

The Relaxing View of the Sabang Beach (c) tophotographyandbeyond

The Relaxing View of the Sabang Beach (c) tophotographyandbeyond

Top 6: Kasuy in English Cashew Nuts

The Famous and Delicious Kasoy (c) photo owner

Top 7: Pearls

The Beautiful Pearls of Palawan (c) photo owner