I have been searching for months on how to apply or obtain a NICA clearance but I had no luck in finding it. And that's the main reason why I have been looking forward in writing this entry. Some of you may ask what a NICA clearance is, this particular clearance is requested upon applying for a Philippine visa. NICA stands for National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, as what I have learned they are working hand in hand with the different intelligence agency in the world like the CIA. The clearance states that you are not in any international or local criminal list around the world. So what do you need to do to apply for one.
The requirements are the following
(A) 1 colored picture of applicant, 1x1 OR 2x2
(B) 2 photocopies of the data page of your passport
(C) duly accomplished application form
The office for applying is located in the third floor of the main office of the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros, Manila. The NICA clearance can be obtained in the derogatory section of the bureau. It has a small window on the left side with a small label NICA clearance. Upon arrival in the window they will hand you an application form which is easy to fill. After filling up the form you need to return it to them with all the other requirement I mentioned above. It takes ten (10) days to process so plan on making two trips to the bureau just for obtaining the clearance.
I hope this helps you especially those who are doing their visa application on their own.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Home Service Spa in the Philippines
One thing that I have been enjoying since we got here in the Philippines is going to spas. It is WAY cheaper than the ones in Hawaii or in mainland USA. For 400-800 pesos ($10-15) you already got yourself one full hour of body massage. Body massages is really relaxing and rejuvenating. I have been wanting to have one for a long time so yesterday my husband got me a home service spa as my pre-birthday gift. He looked up the spa salon through sulit.com, he called and 30 minutes later voila the masseur has arrived in our home. She made me choose between three different kinds of oil, gave me a towel and then my 90 minutes of pure relaxation started. I really like the additional comfort of being in my own home, I do not have to stress about the traffic, there is completely no hassle after the massage. We had the service from Ernest&Cath and they have a spa salon in Marikina which is not very far from us. It cost us 400 pesos for a 90 minutes Swedish massage. It was really worth it and I think I will be doing more of this in the future. Thank you again to Arianna of Ernest&Cath for giving me this one of a kind experience.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Avilon Zoo, Rodriguez Rizal
My husband has been wanting to visit Avilon Zoo for a long time and finally we were able to find the resources to make this trip possible. We do not have our own car and that is why transportation was the main problem in making this trip possible. Not a single taxi want to make a trip there so we decided to rent a van. We paid 1800 pesos plus 400 for the gas, I guess that's not bad considering that we waited a long time for this.
We drove through Marikina and San Mateo to reach our destination. There wasn't much traffic until we reached Rogriguez, Rizal, the road was too narrow that whenever a jeepney makes a stop all the cars behind it will need to stop. From the welcome sign of Rodriguez you will just go straight until you see a Total Gas Station from there you will need to turn left and from there there will be signs going to the zoo.
(DISCLAIMER: I am not trying to give you a negative impression about the zoo. I am just writing based on my experience with it)
So we finally made it to Avilon Zoo! Wohoo! We paid 400 pesos ($9-$10) each for the entrance. There were some people asking us if we want a personal guide for another 400 pesos but we declined the offer and just went by ourselves. They do not have maps so you have to guess where to start (I do hope that they are working on having a map). We don't know if the animals are on summer break or what but seriously almost 50% of what's inside the zoo is just empty cages. Most of the main attraction animals weren't there like the lion and hippopotamus. It was really disappointing on our part considering (again) our long wait and what we have paid for. Another disappointment was the photo opportunity with the animals weren't available. The reason for this "oh the trainer is absent maam". I honesty do not know if it is like that all year round but I hope that the zoo can let the public know about these circumstances. They can warn the public if there's not much animals in the zoo due to the heat or whatever, when the trainers for the photo opportunity are not available. The zoo have really good advertisements so I cannot see any reason why they cannot put a line or two in their website for this.
Despite what we have experienced we still had a good time. We really enjoyed our time as a family. I have read other blogs whose writers enjoyed Avilon Zoo. What I can say about this is that you'll really never know what a place is like unless you experience it for yourself.
We drove through Marikina and San Mateo to reach our destination. There wasn't much traffic until we reached Rogriguez, Rizal, the road was too narrow that whenever a jeepney makes a stop all the cars behind it will need to stop. From the welcome sign of Rodriguez you will just go straight until you see a Total Gas Station from there you will need to turn left and from there there will be signs going to the zoo.
(DISCLAIMER: I am not trying to give you a negative impression about the zoo. I am just writing based on my experience with it)
So we finally made it to Avilon Zoo! Wohoo! We paid 400 pesos ($9-$10) each for the entrance. There were some people asking us if we want a personal guide for another 400 pesos but we declined the offer and just went by ourselves. They do not have maps so you have to guess where to start (I do hope that they are working on having a map). We don't know if the animals are on summer break or what but seriously almost 50% of what's inside the zoo is just empty cages. Most of the main attraction animals weren't there like the lion and hippopotamus. It was really disappointing on our part considering (again) our long wait and what we have paid for. Another disappointment was the photo opportunity with the animals weren't available. The reason for this "oh the trainer is absent maam". I honesty do not know if it is like that all year round but I hope that the zoo can let the public know about these circumstances. They can warn the public if there's not much animals in the zoo due to the heat or whatever, when the trainers for the photo opportunity are not available. The zoo have really good advertisements so I cannot see any reason why they cannot put a line or two in their website for this.
Despite what we have experienced we still had a good time. We really enjoyed our time as a family. I have read other blogs whose writers enjoyed Avilon Zoo. What I can say about this is that you'll really never know what a place is like unless you experience it for yourself.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Anything, Everything delivered
Personally, one of the best things that the Philippines can offer is its delivery service. Almost everything here can be delivered at a very low price and sometimes even for free. We have our drinking water delivered for free, our laundry is picked up and delivered to us for free also and food deliveries are charged around 40-50 pesos (that's like $1). The highest delivery fee that we have paid so far is 10% of the total bill and that is with a fancy restaurant already.
We never have problems with our deliveries it always come on time or if there is a delay or whatsoever the company will surely contact you. The delivery personnel are really polite and they do take care of your purchases. Delivery service is really convenient especially for people with busy schedules.
Food delivery service is absolutely one of the things that I really enjoy and appreciate here in the Philippines. I really missed it while I was away especially during the times that I needed to walk in the dark just to grab some snack in the middle of the night or during my lazy days.
Don't get me wrong I do enjoy dining in restaurants or shopping for myself but it's just that sometimes you can't just do these things for some reasons. I personally enjoy the comfort of being just a few press of the buttons away from getting what I need and what I want.
Here are some food delivery contact numbers:
8-MCDO for McDonalds
8-7000 for Jollibee
(Both are open 24/7)
887-8888 for KFC
789-9999 for Yellow Cab Pizza
911-11-11 for Pizza Hut
(Will update on the numbers soon)
We never have problems with our deliveries it always come on time or if there is a delay or whatsoever the company will surely contact you. The delivery personnel are really polite and they do take care of your purchases. Delivery service is really convenient especially for people with busy schedules.
Food delivery service is absolutely one of the things that I really enjoy and appreciate here in the Philippines. I really missed it while I was away especially during the times that I needed to walk in the dark just to grab some snack in the middle of the night or during my lazy days.
Don't get me wrong I do enjoy dining in restaurants or shopping for myself but it's just that sometimes you can't just do these things for some reasons. I personally enjoy the comfort of being just a few press of the buttons away from getting what I need and what I want.
Here are some food delivery contact numbers:
8-MCDO for McDonalds
8-7000 for Jollibee
(Both are open 24/7)
887-8888 for KFC
789-9999 for Yellow Cab Pizza
911-11-11 for Pizza Hut
(Will update on the numbers soon)
Your lover will love you even more if you get them a pinata
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
What is this all about?
So you may ask what is this blog all about? First of all I want to make it clear that anything that I will be writing in this blog is just purely based on my own point of view. I do not have any facts YET to back up anything that will write here nor is this blog financed by any organizations. Everything that you will be reading here is just products of my day to day experiences and observations as I am discovering the Philippines with my new lenses.
I have been away from the Philippines for only 3 years but it feels like I have been away for eternitites. There are a lot of things that have changed or maybe I should say there are a lot of things that I can see now which were hidden from me before. It's like everything is new to me, no matter how ridiculous it sounds I feel like I am not from here anymore, everything looks, feels, smells and tastes strange. Before I left the country I told myself that I am not going to be like the other balikbayans (this is a term we use as Filipinos to refer to those who went out of the country but for some reason either temporary or permanent went back) who alienates (oh how good to hear me use that word again, it's been a long time, let me say it again ALIENATE) themselves from the culture because they had a taste of another. Before I ridicule (of course I do this just in my head) these kind of people, for me they are like hypocrites leeching on other people's culture. Little did I know that one day I will become like them. I hate to admit it but yes I did became one of them at one point but now I am trying to overcome it. I try to use this experience to redefine myself as a Filipina who is now obliged to embrace a new culture. With all these things running in my head I decided to start this blog, I won't lose anything and plus I get to put my ICS mind into practice.
I have been away from the Philippines for only 3 years but it feels like I have been away for eternitites. There are a lot of things that have changed or maybe I should say there are a lot of things that I can see now which were hidden from me before. It's like everything is new to me, no matter how ridiculous it sounds I feel like I am not from here anymore, everything looks, feels, smells and tastes strange. Before I left the country I told myself that I am not going to be like the other balikbayans (this is a term we use as Filipinos to refer to those who went out of the country but for some reason either temporary or permanent went back) who alienates (oh how good to hear me use that word again, it's been a long time, let me say it again ALIENATE) themselves from the culture because they had a taste of another. Before I ridicule (of course I do this just in my head) these kind of people, for me they are like hypocrites leeching on other people's culture. Little did I know that one day I will become like them. I hate to admit it but yes I did became one of them at one point but now I am trying to overcome it. I try to use this experience to redefine myself as a Filipina who is now obliged to embrace a new culture. With all these things running in my head I decided to start this blog, I won't lose anything and plus I get to put my ICS mind into practice.
This blog will contain (as the name suggest) anything under the HOT Philippines sun. From food, places to visit, news event and really anything that I think is worth writing considering the fact that I have other duties to fulfill. I am excited to start with this blog and I hope you can join me in this journey as I start rediscovering the Philippines.
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