I remembered sitting inside a cramped van negotiating the snaking countryside road of Laos, feeling very excited as I reached my next destination. My high anticipation stemmed from the desire to unlock the truth behind the prevailing word-of-mouth on Luang Prabang. “The place is so laid-back,” fellow travelers would often rave. As simple as it might be, that description was music to my ears. Throw in the heritage structures and rich culture of the city, my giddiness got the best of me for the rest of my ride.

We were dead set on summiting Mount Daraitan on this beautiful sunny day. However, while fueling up with a hot bowl of lomi at Barangay Daraitan, a guide from the tourism office suggested Mt. Mamara. "The hike is easier, but the view is equally spectacular as in Daraitan," he told us in Tagalog. While I was silently considering his advice, I waited for my friends Christine and Ferdz's decision if we would take a vote on what mountain to day-hike. There was silence—except for the sound of our slurping—for a few seconds before Christine made a final decision for our group: "Mt. Mamara it is then."

Philippine Airlines is continuing to step up the quality of service and comfort level of its short-haul international flights with the introduction of the Airbus A330. Today, PAL passengers can now safely enjoy a very convenient 4-hour journey to Bangkok with the helpful addition of the cool, modern features of the A330.

This specific Airbus model is normally used by most commercial airlines on long-haul flights that span at least eight hours of travel time. By actively opting to fly this dandy of a state-of-the-art plane on a brief hop to a busy city like Bangkok, it only heavily shows how serious Philippine Airlines is when it comes to providing more value for airfare to its passengers.

Bangkok had been synonymous with shopping, food tripping, temples, and wild night parties—especially at the infamous Khao San Road. More often than not, parents would leave their kids at home when visiting Bangkok because of the fear they would get bored, as opposed to traveling to Hong Kong and Tokyo, where the worlds of Disneyland abounded.

French philosopher Voltaire once said that “illusion is the first of all pleasures”—and one of its finest forms was the trickery of our visual sense. Bangkok’s 3D Art in Paradise did just that through its artworks daubed vividly on the walls and other installations conveying images of a different realm.