Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 26th January, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is dry for the moment and a current temp at 6.30am of 24C

Yesterday saw again rain around Samui but not as much as the previous days, when I left in the evening for my trip to the Philippines, there were starts in the clear sky. Max temp reached around 28C

Manila, where I'm in transit right now has clouds but is dry and with a current temp at 6.30am of 25C

Camille

On the road again, Philippines, here we are!

On the road again, Philippines, here we are!

Yes indeed, this post comes from manila International airport in the Philippines, where I'm waiting to board a plane to Cebu in about an hour time. From there it will be another two hours drive on Cebu to go to a boat that will bring me to my final destination for the next two weeks, Malapascua, a small island where I will be conducting a PADI IDC.

In the meantime, I will keep the updates for Samui going as good as I can, with daily updates 'fresh from the farm or source'!

Camille

Roxas Boulevard: Great Place To Watch Fireworks On New Year Eve

Roxas Boulevard is a long stretch of thouroughfare by the Manila Bay, about 9 kilometers, from Anda Circle in the Port Area up to NAIA Road in Paranaque. It was so beautiful according to those who born ahead of us. But that was 40 years ago, when the whole stretch of the so called "lover's boulevard", known then as Dewey Boulevard, ran smoothly without obstructions brought about by major development that slowly engulfed our metropolis after the war. Then, it was so lovely. With coconut trees dotting along its line, Roxas Boulevard was the real picture of a grandeur highway. Today, Roxas Boulevard is wider. To give way for progress some coconut trees must be cut down. And so we have now CCP Complex, Mall of Asia, Metropolitan Park, Asiaworld City and soon the Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City. Well, if it's not yet stalled as presumed.

Manila Bay at Roxas Boulevard now confined to Malate and Ermita Districts. And if you're wondering what part of Roxas Boulevard is the best area to watch fireworks this coming New Year's Eve, no doubt it's the part from Pedro Gil up to Quirino Avenue. Yearly, the local government of the city of Manila allots big budget for pyrotechnics to make the welcoming of the coming new year more memorable, joyful and festive. So if you're thinking of where to spend your New Year to watch fireworks on the very first hour of 2011, consider this great destination.

Here are the directions to Roxas Boulevard by Manila Bay from different parts of Metro Manila

BY CAR

BY LRT/MRT

BY JEEPNEY

LOCATION MAP

Route #1

From south of Metro Manila and the province of Cavite. Take Coastal Road and drive all the way until you cross NAIA Road. By this time you're already driving along Roxas Boulevard. Stay to the middle and drive all the way until you reach Ermita District. You'll cross EDSA and Gil Puyat Avenue via flyovers. Two stop lights, P. Ocampo formerly Vito Cruz and Quirino Avenue, after that your already in the Manila Bay where the fireworks display in Manila will take place. Now, you must think of how to park your car properly. You can make a U-Turn on Pedro Gil but it's not legal. The best way is to drive all the way to T.M. Kalaw, stay to the left and turn left on Kalaw going to Quirino Grandstand. Make a U-Turn there then turn right onto Roxas Boulevard again. Now, you're driving on south bound lane of Roxas Boulevard. You can easily see parking areas along Roxas Boulevard after you pass U.S. Embassy and there's another one right before the intersection of Quirino Avenue.

Route #2

From north of Metro Manila and provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and North Luzon, take A. Bonifacio Avenue and Dimasalang Street to Quezon Avenue. On Quezon Avenue go straight up to Quiapo and Lawton. Road name change to Padre Burgos after passing Lawton area. Stay to the right of P. Burgos Street to avoid getting to Taft Avenue. Stay on P. Burgos and turn left on Roxas Blvd. Stay to the middle and cross intersections of T.M. Kalaw, U.N. Avenue and Padre Faura. After passing the U.S. Embassy stay to the left of Roxas Boulevard. You can easily see parking areas along Roxas Boulevard after you pass U.S. Embassy and there's another one right before the intersection of Quirino Avenue.

Route #3

From Alabang take the Skyway and exit on Gil Puyat. Avoid getting to the Gil Puyat Avenue flyover. Turn left on Gil Puyat Avenue and drive all the way. Cross Taft Avenue under LRT-1 and turn right onto Roxas Boulevard. Two stop lights, P. Ocampo formerly Vito Cruz and Quirino Avenue, after that your already in the Manila Bay where the fireworks display in Manila will take place. Now, you must think of how to park your car properly. You can make a U-Turn on Pedro Gil but it's not legal. The best way is to drive all the way to T.M. Kalaw, stay to the left and turn left on Kalaw going to Quirino Grandstand. Make a U-Turn there then turn right onto Roxas Boulevard again. Now, you're driving on south bound lane of Roxas Boulevard. You can easily see parking areas along Roxas Boulevard after you pass U.S. Embassy and there's another one right before the intersection of Quirino Avenue.

Route #4

Coming from areas of Sucat, NAIA-3, NAIA-1, Multinational Village and neighboring vicinity take Sucat Road, Imelda Avenue and Ninoy Aquino Avenue. Turn left on NAIA Road then turn right onto Roxas Boulevard. Stay to the middle and drive all the way until you reach Ermita District. You'll cross EDSA and Gil Puyat Avenue via flyovers. Two stop lights, P. Ocampo formerly Vito Cruz and Quirino Avenue, after that your already in the Manila Bay where the fireworks display in Manila will take place. Now, you must think of how to park your car properly. You can make a U-Turn on Pedro Gil but it's not legal. The best way is to drive all the way to T.M. Kalaw, stay to the left and turn left on Kalaw going to Quirino Grandstand. Make a U-Turn there then turn right onto Roxas Boulevard again. Now, you're driving on south bound lane of Roxas Boulevard. You can easily see parking areas along Roxas Boulevard after you pass U.S. Embassy and there's another one right before the intersection of Quirino Avenue.

Route #5

From Caloocan, Navotas, Malabon take Jose Abad Santos Avenue. Jose Abad Santos Avenue ends up in Recto. Cross Recto Avenue and Reina Regente begins. Drive on Reina Regente up to Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz. Turn right to go with the flow of one way traffic around Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz turning left on Juan Luna Street. Stay on Juan Luna crossing Dasmarinas Street. Follow where public jeepneys turn. Turn left on the next street after Dasmarinas. Turn right onto Jones bridge. You are now taking Padre Burgos Street. Stay to the right of P. Burgos Street to avoid getting to Taft Avenue. Stay on P. Burgos and turn left on Roxas Blvd. Stay to the middle and cross intersections of T.M. Kalaw, U.N. Avenue and Padre Faura. After passing the U.S. Embassy stay to the left of Roxas Boulevard. You can easily see parking areas along Roxas Boulevard after you pass U.S. Embassy and there's another one right before the intersection of Quirino Avenue.

Route #6

From Pasig, Sta. Mesa and neighboring vicinity take Ramon Magsasay Blvd and Legarda Street crossing Nagtahan by taking flyover to Legarda. On Legarda Street, just cross Recto Avenue. Legarda ends up in Arlegui but the road continues under the name of P. Casal Street. Drive on P. Casal and cross Pasig River via Ayala Bridge. You are now in Ayala Blvd. Go straight crossing Taft Avenue passing under LRT-1. You are now in Finance Road. Turn left on Padre Burgos Street. Another stop light and you must stay to the left of P. Burgos Street. Turn left on Roxas Blvd. Stay to the middle and cross intersections of T.M. Kalaw, U.N. Avenue and Padre Faura. After passing the U.S. Embassy stay to the left of Roxas Boulevard. You can easily see parking areas along Roxas Boulevard after you pass U.S. Embassy and there's another one right before the intersection of Quirino Avenue.

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How to get to Manila Bay at Roxas Boulevard by MRT and LRT?

Route #1

LRT-1 from north stations namely Roosevelt, Balintawak, Monumento and other stations. Get off at Carriedo Station then ride jeepney infront of Santa Cruz Church bound to "Baclaran Mabini" or "Vito Cruz Mabini". You can get to Santa Cruz Church by walking to the west side of Carriedo Street between Plaza Fair and Philtrust Bank, then turn right on the next corner. The church is up ahead. Make sure the jeepney you're going to ride bear sign that read "Mabini" Ask driver to kindly drop you off at Rajah Sulayman. You can now walk your way to Roxas Boulevard.

Route #2

LRT-1 from South Terminal of Baclaran and all other stations from there. Get off at Libertad Station. Walk to the Philtrust Bank and wait for jeepney bound to Pier or Horizon. Ride and then if you ride a Pier bound jeep, get off at San Andres and walk toward Roxas Boulevard. If you ride Horizon bound jeep, take another jeepney via "Mabini" and get off at San Andres. You can also get off at Gil Puyat Avenue Station, ride a jeepney with "Evengelista" sign, get off at Horizon Street and take another jeep with "Manini" on its sign. Get off at San Andres Street, then walk toward Roxas Boulevard.

Route #3

LRT-2 Stations, all stations. From your station get off at Recto then walk your way to Avenida Street. Ride jeepney with "Baclaran Mabini" or "Vito Cruz Mabini" sign. There must be the "Mabini" on the jeepney sign or you will not get there. Ask driver to kindly drop you off at Rajah Sulayman. Walk your way to Roxas Boulevard.

Route #4

MRT-3, all Stations. From your station, get off at Taft Station then take another train ride North bound or Monumento bound on LRT-1. LRT and MRT are interconnected. Get off at Libertad Station. Walk to the Philtrust Bank and wait for jeepney bound to Pier or Harrison. Ride and then if you ride a Pier bound jeep, get off at San Andres and walk toward Roxas Boulevard. If you ride Harrison bound jeep, take another jeepney via "Mabini" and get off at San Andres. You can also get off at Gil Puyat Avenue Station, ride a jeepney with "Evengelista" sign, get off at Horizon Street and take another jeep with "Manini" on its sign. Get off at San Andres Street, then walk toward Roxas Boulevard.

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How to get to Manila Bay at Roxas Boulevard by jeepney?

All jeepneys that ply the route of "Monumento-Baclaran" vice versa via Mabini pass by Rajah Sulayman Park. From Rajah Sulayman Park, walk your way to Roxas Boulevard and see where's the best place for you to watch the fireworks. There are also Baclaran bound jeepneys that ply the route of Mabini. Always make sure that there's the "Mabini" word on the sign of jeepney you are going to ride.

All you need to do is to ride another jeep bound to Baclaran via Mabini. If you're from Pasig, ride Baclaran bound jeepney in Quiapo. If you're from Cubao, there's also Baclaran bound jeepney there via Mabini. If there's none then ride one in Quiapo. Same way if you're from Fairview or Novaliches and Quezon Avenue. If you're from Monumento, then just get off right in front of Malate Church. Rajah Sulayman is opposite the church. From Makati, ride bus then get off at Harrison Street then ride a jeep bound to Monumento or Quiapo via Mabini. Wherever you might be coming from, just remember to ride a jeepney with "Mabini" on its sign.

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Location Map of Manila Bay at Roxas Boulevard



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How To Get To Avenida Manila Via Roxas Boulevard

Traveling to Avenida Manila via Roxas Boulevard is the best way one can take if they're coming from south of Metro Manila and Cavite. Here's the route. From Roxas Boulevard turn right onto Padre Burgos Street. This is the street that borders Luneta Park or Rizal Park to the north. From CCP Complex, you will cross four intersections before you get to Rizal Park from which you make your right turn onto Padre Burgos Street. These intersections are P. Ocampo formerly Vito Cruz, Quirino Avenue, Pedro Gil, and T.M. Kalaw Street. T.M. Kalaw is the street that borders Rizal Park or Luneta to the south.

After the right turn, stay to the middle of Padre Burgos Street. While traversing the edge of Rizal Park, you will cross two stop lights before Padre Burgos Street bends to the left and a slip lane occurred to the right. Be careful not to get onto the slip lane, this will take you to Finance Road and lost your way. Another stop light and after that you are driving along the edge of National Museum, the building to your right. Up ahead the road bends again to the left and another road merges to it. Now you must make sure you're on the middle of the road upon approaching the next intersection. To your right now is Manila City Hall. It's important that you're on the middle of Padre Burgos to avoid apprehension. Traffic here is very heavy because of lots of jeepneys and buses from the road that merged a while ago. You will be tempted to change lane to the left but don't. Because if you're on the outermost lane you must take the direction toward Binondo or you will get the ticket.

You see Padre Burgos becomes wider when the other road merged with it. And 250-meter away from the last stop light, two slip lanes occur dividing Padre Burgos Street into three main roads. Slip lane to your left will bring you to Binondo. Slip lane to your right will bring you to Quiapo. And the middle is the one that will bring you to Avenida. MMDA traffic officers stand right in this junction and I was flagged down once for that mistake. So avoid that.

Use the elevated road toward the Pasig River and cross the river via Mac Arthur Bridge. Go with the flow of the traffic being taken by passenger jeepneys going to Monumento. Once you are under the elevated LRT Carriedo Station, you can be sure that you are now in Avenida Manila.