Its already been 4 days then since I arrived in Manila but I wasn't really able to make the most of it because of my body aches. I haven't been to my favorite places yet nor have not visited my relatives in Cavite. I have no choice but to force myself to go out and enjoy the remaining two days of my short travel stints. The jog thing was really a bad idea, I forgot to consider its consequences. :(
09:30 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
Got everything up and ready for my busy day ahead. I had the Nokia Lumia 925 fully charge, my powerbank fully loaded and my cash ready for a whole day of shopping spree!! :D
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To-do and shopping lists on paper? Those were the days, there were now lots of mobilephone apps that could do the tasks easily, and one of the best for Windows Phone 8 is Pin Notes, a free app that allows users to make any lists with checkboxes and have them pinned to the Homescreen so it can easily be seen. You can even make as many live tile notes as you want in multiple colors.
11:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
Arrived in my first destination for the day, Greenhills Shopping Mall! I couldn't remember any occasion where I have not visited this mall everytime I'm in Manila. The place is a shopping haven for anyone who loves bargain prices. Just imagine an Aeropostale shirt that cost PhP2,000 pesos in regular malls, stalls inside Greenhills Mall only sell for PhP350, a chunk of difference from the other, though the later is a class A imitation.
My mission on the mall, to buy myself sweat shirts and shorts for my soon to be jogging frenzy, ragged t-shirts for my daily use and a Nokia Asha 501, my dream reloader phone. Brand new price of the said phone in regular malls is about PhP4,350, I'm hoping to find a second hand unit at half the price.
Its was really fun roaming around with legs aching, I can only afford to walk slower than stroll, I even had a hard time going down a regular stairs! Even so, I'd manage to walk through all stalls selling t-shirts, looking for the best bargains. I was able to buy two Adidas sweatshirt for PhP150 each, an Adidas sweatpants for PhP125, and an Ateneo sweatshirt for PhP200. I was also able to score an Old Navy t-shirt for PhP300.
If I have an easy time for the t-shirts, the Nokia Asha 501 was a bit of a problem, I have not found any second hand units around. Most of the stalls I've visited were saying that they have no stocks because its very salable, and that due to its high demand, they're even selling it for PhP3,500. To much I believe because the difference between the brand new and second hand is only PhP850, and these second hand units doesn't even have original charger and headphone with it. I have no idea, the phone was that popular!
14:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
On to my next pit stop, the Business Capital of the Philippines, Makati City, to visit an agency I've been in business to for the past 2 years to check a few things. While in the area, I also took the time to snap a few pictures of the high rise buildings around with the Nokia Lumia 925. Daylight were were pretty descent, more detailed and sharp as compared to my 5 year old Nokia N8, but the difference wasn't far-fetched unlike its night shoot images.
I also tried Nokia City Lens in the area, an augmented reality software that shows information directly to the phone’s camera display, about the users surroundings such as shops, restaurants, and points of interest, being shown as virtual signs overlaid on or above buildings. It was a fun app but for the time being, only limited information were being shown unlike in other foreign cities. More improvements on this and it will be very usable.
.jpg)
Nokia Maps 3.0 and the walk and drive navigation on the other hand are arguably good. The satellite view were detailed enough and you can rely on its walk and drive software. The search engine on the map though needs improvement, it needs refinement, most specially that there were buildings that had the same names deferring only in sub-names. The Cityland Tower for example, I didn't know that there will lots of them in Manila and the search engine only showed one and it wasn't the tower I'm supposed to go to.
17:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
Drop by to my other favorite destination, Quaipo Church, the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene. The church is prominent Roman Catholic Latin-rite basilica located in the District of Quiapo in the City of Manila. Its one of the most famous religious site in the country because of its many faithfuls and devotees. The Black Nazarene is known to have miraculous powers that could grant wishes and heal the sick. Well, I'm not really a devotee of the Black Nazarene but there was ever no incident again that I missed to visit this place every time I'm around.
Besides hearing masses at the Basilica, the surrounding area is also a shopping sanctuary, but unlike Greenhills where the stalls were enclosed in an air-conditioned area, Quaipo vendors with ambulatory stalls, display their goods along the street thus shopping is rather challenging. Its definitely not safe around the area that I did not dare taking my phone out for documentation.
19:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
On my way to my last destination of the day, Bacoor, Cavite to meet my relatives. They invited me for a dinner and an overnight stay, and since I hardly visit Manila, I cant not say no.
Battery on the Nokia Lumia 925 after a long day, almost drained. Good thing that I always bought me a power bank to temporarily charge the phone. The power bank won't really charge the phone properly but at least it will keep it awake to receive important calls and messages. The phone is definitely not like my oldie Nokia N8 where it can last a day or two on regular use. Well, its the screen size perhaps since it needs to power more screen pixels; the apps running on the background; nor perhaps the dual core processor. Whatever it is, it falls short to my daily normal needs.
Spend the rest of the night then, chatting with my uncle, aunt and cousins, and for the third straight night, booze and beers.
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 1
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 2
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 3
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 4 - Camera and Sunset
09:30 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
Got everything up and ready for my busy day ahead. I had the Nokia Lumia 925 fully charge, my powerbank fully loaded and my cash ready for a whole day of shopping spree!! :D
.jpg)
To-do and shopping lists on paper? Those were the days, there were now lots of mobilephone apps that could do the tasks easily, and one of the best for Windows Phone 8 is Pin Notes, a free app that allows users to make any lists with checkboxes and have them pinned to the Homescreen so it can easily be seen. You can even make as many live tile notes as you want in multiple colors.
11:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
Arrived in my first destination for the day, Greenhills Shopping Mall! I couldn't remember any occasion where I have not visited this mall everytime I'm in Manila. The place is a shopping haven for anyone who loves bargain prices. Just imagine an Aeropostale shirt that cost PhP2,000 pesos in regular malls, stalls inside Greenhills Mall only sell for PhP350, a chunk of difference from the other, though the later is a class A imitation.
My mission on the mall, to buy myself sweat shirts and shorts for my soon to be jogging frenzy, ragged t-shirts for my daily use and a Nokia Asha 501, my dream reloader phone. Brand new price of the said phone in regular malls is about PhP4,350, I'm hoping to find a second hand unit at half the price.
Its was really fun roaming around with legs aching, I can only afford to walk slower than stroll, I even had a hard time going down a regular stairs! Even so, I'd manage to walk through all stalls selling t-shirts, looking for the best bargains. I was able to buy two Adidas sweatshirt for PhP150 each, an Adidas sweatpants for PhP125, and an Ateneo sweatshirt for PhP200. I was also able to score an Old Navy t-shirt for PhP300.
If I have an easy time for the t-shirts, the Nokia Asha 501 was a bit of a problem, I have not found any second hand units around. Most of the stalls I've visited were saying that they have no stocks because its very salable, and that due to its high demand, they're even selling it for PhP3,500. To much I believe because the difference between the brand new and second hand is only PhP850, and these second hand units doesn't even have original charger and headphone with it. I have no idea, the phone was that popular!
14:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
On to my next pit stop, the Business Capital of the Philippines, Makati City, to visit an agency I've been in business to for the past 2 years to check a few things. While in the area, I also took the time to snap a few pictures of the high rise buildings around with the Nokia Lumia 925. Daylight were were pretty descent, more detailed and sharp as compared to my 5 year old Nokia N8, but the difference wasn't far-fetched unlike its night shoot images.
I also tried Nokia City Lens in the area, an augmented reality software that shows information directly to the phone’s camera display, about the users surroundings such as shops, restaurants, and points of interest, being shown as virtual signs overlaid on or above buildings. It was a fun app but for the time being, only limited information were being shown unlike in other foreign cities. More improvements on this and it will be very usable.
.jpg)
Nokia Maps 3.0 and the walk and drive navigation on the other hand are arguably good. The satellite view were detailed enough and you can rely on its walk and drive software. The search engine on the map though needs improvement, it needs refinement, most specially that there were buildings that had the same names deferring only in sub-names. The Cityland Tower for example, I didn't know that there will lots of them in Manila and the search engine only showed one and it wasn't the tower I'm supposed to go to.
17:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
Drop by to my other favorite destination, Quaipo Church, the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene. The church is prominent Roman Catholic Latin-rite basilica located in the District of Quiapo in the City of Manila. Its one of the most famous religious site in the country because of its many faithfuls and devotees. The Black Nazarene is known to have miraculous powers that could grant wishes and heal the sick. Well, I'm not really a devotee of the Black Nazarene but there was ever no incident again that I missed to visit this place every time I'm around.
Besides hearing masses at the Basilica, the surrounding area is also a shopping sanctuary, but unlike Greenhills where the stalls were enclosed in an air-conditioned area, Quaipo vendors with ambulatory stalls, display their goods along the street thus shopping is rather challenging. Its definitely not safe around the area that I did not dare taking my phone out for documentation.
19:00 +8GMT, November 9, 2013
On my way to my last destination of the day, Bacoor, Cavite to meet my relatives. They invited me for a dinner and an overnight stay, and since I hardly visit Manila, I cant not say no.
Battery on the Nokia Lumia 925 after a long day, almost drained. Good thing that I always bought me a power bank to temporarily charge the phone. The power bank won't really charge the phone properly but at least it will keep it awake to receive important calls and messages. The phone is definitely not like my oldie Nokia N8 where it can last a day or two on regular use. Well, its the screen size perhaps since it needs to power more screen pixels; the apps running on the background; nor perhaps the dual core processor. Whatever it is, it falls short to my daily normal needs.
Spend the rest of the night then, chatting with my uncle, aunt and cousins, and for the third straight night, booze and beers.
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 1
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 2
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 3
Wandering With The Nokia Lumia 925, Part 4 - Camera and Sunset
