My Wish : Me, MassKara Festival and Airphil Express

Some of my blog entries were about my adventure trips. Often, if not all were the story of myself who have been in awe with the beauty of the place and the hospitality of its people. This includes my birthplace, Davao City. When I was a child, my mom would take me and my brothers to all the events, Araw ng Davao (every March 16) and Kadayawan (usually third weekend of August, this year is August 21).

It has been a while since the last time I participated on the celebration, yell on the streets and take pictures of the outstanding moments of the event. So, this year, I told myself, I'll be walking on the main streets of Davao and experience Kadayawan once again, and so I did! After fulfilling and sweating-all-day along the street, it gave birth to a wish. I wished I could be witness to the street dances of all festivals in the Philippines and make it the next trend on my blog posts-Philippine Festivals and Culture.

Today I was searching for the first festival I might be interested in, and I thought of Bacolod's Masskara festival. I visited this site http://www.themasskarafestival.com/ and the next thing I knew, I was searching for the best way to go to Bacolod next month. I have been to Bacolod once, so the place is a bit familiar and blogged about that visit with my family;

1. http://donandji.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-spillover-03-caribbean-waterpark.html
2. http://donandji.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-spillover-04-chicken-countrys.html
3. http://donandji.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-spillover-05-museums-and-old.html

The city is indeed a city of smiles, the hotel crew/agent was always welcoming and did not get tired of answering questions regarding Bacolod. But at that time, it was November and we just missed their Masskara Festival of 2010.

Today as I browsed and looked for ways to go to Bacolod, since there isn't a direct Davao-Bacolod flight, we may head through Davao-Manila-Bacolod or Davao-Cebu-Bacolod through our promising airlines operating in the country. We may also visit Bacolod through Davao-Iloilo flight, which by the way, Airphil Express (www.airphilexpress.com) just launched this month and gave us promo fares for travels from Sept 1 to Dec 15, 2011 (go visit the site now!), and then undergo about an hour and a half (1.5Hrs) of ferry ride from Iloilo to Bacolod which is daily according to http://schedule.ph/boat/from/Iloilo/to/Bacolod and rates are reasonable as it is specified here, http://www.bacolodcity.gov.ph/codb6.htm. So, we've got options to choose from!!!

Later this morning, with my conviction to really be able to visit Bacolod next month, I asked my friend "Google" and searched for Masskara Festival 2011 Schedule and this is what I've got http://www.themasskarafestival.com/front-page/schedule/, where the best days would be October 15 and 16 if I want to witness street dancing and capture all the smiles of the people in the "City of Smile" through my lenses. To add to my dilemma and excitement, I've seen this Pick-A-Fest of Airphil Express https://www.facebook.com/airphilexpressph?sk=app_6009294086 where a blogger may win 2 roundtrip tickets to one of the three festivals this October, Masskara in Bacolod, Hermosa in Zamboanga and Lanzones in Camiguin via Cagayan de Oro, and next thing I know, here I am, blogging. Desperate much??? LOL... God Speed Airphil Express!!!!

Experience MassKara Festival, Hermosa Festival and Lanzones Festival this October. Airphil Express flies daily to BACOLOD, ZAMBOANGA and CAGAYAN DE ORO from Cebu and Manila. Visit www.airphilexpress.com to book!