The Freelancer life

It’s been almost 7 months now since I’ve decided to resign from my job in a multinational company and decided to become a full-time freelancer instead. It’s been almost 7 months now that I’ve been working at home and I have to admit that I am kinda missing my office life. I quit my regular job in a company because I was sick and tired of having a boss, of following some silly office rules, of filing vacation leave that’s being approved only in the last minute because my boss was just too busy doing a lot of things. I quit my job simply because I didn’t feel happy anymore. I hate it when my travel plan and any other plan in life are ruined and being set aside only because my boss didn’t approved my vacation leave, and also because of some erratic work schedule. Masyado akong naistress sa buhay ko sa kumpanya. I’ve worked for more than 2 years in my previous job and I’ve been working in the corporate world for almost half a decade now, and before I resigned from my previous job, nagwowork na ako as part-time freelancer. Nagenjoy ako sa pagwork as part-time freelancer kasi sarili ko ang oras ko, and because of that nagdecide na ako na ifull-time na nga ang pagwork ko online or pagiging freelancer dahil na din sa pagod na din ako sa pagwork sa office setting.

Odesk.com

Freelancer.com

I am currently working as a web researcher, data entry personnel, and other stuff related to research. Right now, all of my contracts and clients are from odesk.com and freelancer.com. Wala pa akong nakukuhang contract from elance.com, guru.com or peopleperhour.com. Most of my jobs are home-based and most of the time I have that freedom to choose my working hours. I work anywhere. I work at home, at the mall, at the bus station, at the airport, at the pier, at the plaza, and anywhere that I want. Some of my friends envy me because I work at any place that I want. But I have to admit, working at home or working online is kind of boring sometimes. To be honest, right now, I am missing my officemates. I miss those moments na kinukulit ko ang mga officemate ko kapag nabobored na ako sa desk ko. I miss those moments na kukulitin ko sila na magbreak at ako ang madalas na dahilan kung bakit lagi kaming overbreak at sobrang madami kung makapagbreak. Namimiss ko yung mga moments na lagi akong may kasabay na kakain kapag lunchbreak, those moments when you will be sharing jokes and stories to your seatmate and officemate. Yung mga moment na you listen to all those stories, problems and experience ng mga kaofficemate mo. I miss those moments when after work, maglalakad kami ng mga officemate ko papunta sa ortigas para kumain or gumimik. I miss those moments. Hindi ko na kasi yun magawa ngayong full-time freelancer na ko.

You know, the life of a freelancer also have many sad moments. Most of the time I just work at home. I just sit all day with no one to talk to especially during those moments na nabobored na ako. You don’t have that seatmate na pwede mong kulitin. Most of time, most of the people that I talked to when I’m bored are those friend of mine who are online in Facebook or yahoo messenger or Skype. Most of the time, kausap ko na lang ang mga friends ko online. And when I’m having a quick break from work, nanunuod na lang ako ng tv or naglalakad lakad lang ako sa loob ng bahay. It’s kind of a lonely life you know. Most of the time I’m just alone. Even if I go to the malls para maiba naman ang setting, still, magisa pa din ako na magwowork online, kasi yung mga kaibigan ko busy din sa office nila or sa ibang bagay. I guess this is the price to pay sa pagwork at home or ng online job.

Elance.com

Guru.com

There are also a lot of good things about working online. Unang una, you don’thave a boss. Sarili mo ang oras mo. You also don’t need to file for a sick leave or vacation leave. You don’t need to follow office rules. You don’t need to wake up early or go to the office kapag tinatamad ka. Mas tipid din since hindi mo na kailangan magbyahe papunta ng office at tipid na din sa damit since pwede ka naman magtrabaho ng nakasuot lang ng pambahay. You can even work even if you’re just wearing underwear or nothing at all.hahahah! During a one-on-one meeting with a client, pwede ka humarap sa videocamera kahit na nakalongsleeve and necktie ka pero nakaunderwear ka lang.hahah! You can even talk to your client kahit na hindi ka pa naliligo or nagsisipilyo..heheh! Another advantage is the tax deduction. Since hindi naman malalaman ng BIR kung magkano ang kinikita mo, you can choose not to declare your income and not to pay the income tax. Or you can declare a low amount of income para mas mababa din ang income tax na babayaran mo. 

There are a lot of advantages of being a freelancer and these advantages are the reason I still choose to remain a full-time freelancer than to being an employee of those multinational companies.  Eventhough I miss my office life so much, and I miss my officemates, I’m  still gonna choose my freelancer life kesa sa employee life dahil mas less stressful and mas madami ang freedom ko sa freelancer life ko. So in short, kahit na namimiss ko ang office life ko at mga kaofficemate ko, mas gusto ko pa din ang buhay freelancer kasi nagagawa ko ang mga bagay na gusto kong gawin, lalo na ang pagtravel! So itry nyo din ang mga website na nabanggit ko, malay nyo, baka magustuhan nyo din. Goodluck!

Malapascua Island, the bike and the beach.

A few weeks ago, I ventured out for a travel adventure in the beautiful province of Cebu. For almost a year, I’ve been coming back and forth to Cebu but most of the time I only stayed in Cebu City and visited some places near Cebu City like those resorts located in Lapu-Lapu City. My travel goal was to visit most of the known vacation spots in Cebu that I haven’t visited yet like Malapascua, Bantayan,  Oslob, Dalaguete and Camotes. But due to the time constraint, I wasn’t been able to visit the Bantayan Island. Anyway, I’ll be sharing with you my travel experience in Malapascua Island. For the other destinations, gagawa na lang din ako ng ibang blog entry for that. Baka kasi masyadong mahaba ang magawa kong story at makatulog kayo habang nagbabasa..hehehe!

Anyway, just to give you an overview about the island, Malapascua Island is an island located at the northernmost part of the Cebu province. This island is famously known for beautiful dive sites and for its white sand beaches. The dive sites are also known for thresher sharks and manta rays. Malapascua Island is about 4 to 5 hours travel from Cebu City.

Malapascua Island

So ayan, napipicture-out nyo na kung gaano kalayo ang Malapascua.hehehe! To start my travel story, I arrived in Cebu City early in the morning. I travelled to Cebu City via the Masbate-Cebu route. I took the 6pm TransAsia ferry in Masbate City and arrived in Cebu City 7am the next day. It was a 13 hour travel. I just slept most of the travel period since there’s nothing much to do and to see for that 13 hour travel, and besides medyo pagod na din ako since I travelled from Camarines Sur all the way down to Masbate City. That comprised of travelling by a tricycle from our house to the Bus terminal, and then ride a multicab/small jeepney from the Bus terminal going to the next town, then rode a bus going to the province of Albay, then I rode another jeepney bound for Pilar Port in the province of Sorsogon, and then took a pumpboat ride going to Masbate City in the province of Masbate. So parang nagprovince hopping ako..4 province din yun.hehehe! Nagcommute lang ako since wala akong budget para magtake ng taxi or magrent ng sasakyan, but I enjoyed the ride since it was my first time to visit Masbate City, but too bad I wasn’t been able to roam around the province. Gagawa na lang ako ng ibang entry for Masbate since tungkol naman sa Malapascua ang ikikwento ko ngayon.hehe!

M/V Asia Indonesia. This is the ferry plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

Okay, so going back to my Malapascua travel story (ang daming paligoy ligoy ang ginawa ko.hahah!) I arrived in Cebu City early in the morning and then from Cebu City port, I rode a jeepney bound for SM, and then rode another jeepney bound for Cebu North Bus Terminal. I don’t know kung may jeep na diretso ng North Bus Terminal from Cebu City Pier pero 2 rides na lang ginawa ko. From North Bus Terminal, I rode a bus bound for Maya. Don’t ride a bus bound for Bogo City or Daanbantayan because you’ll end up taking another ride going to Maya. The Maya-bound buses’ final stop is right at the Maya Port. The Maya port and Malapascua Island are still part of Daanbantayan town but the town center or poblacion is still a little bit far from the port or from the island. The travel time from Cebu City to Maya Port is 4 hours and most of the buses plying that route are non-airconditioned buses. There are many airconditioned bus plying the northern Cebu route but most of them travel to Bogo City and Daanbantayan only, so you’ll be ending up taking another ride to reach Maya Port. Kaya kung maarte kayo at ayaw nyo sumakay ng ordinary bus, just take the Daanbantayan-bound buses pero mapipilitan pa din kayo sumakay ng non-airconditioned bus from Daanbantayan to Maya at maeexperience nyo pa din ang masarap na simoy ng alikabok at masarap na sikat ng araw.hahaha! Anyway, the fare for Ceres Bus Line non-airconditioned bus from Cebu City to Maya port is 163 pesos.

Maya Port, Daanbantayan

Maya port is the jumpoff point going to Malapascua Island.  There are regular trips going to Malapascua but most of these boats leave the port only if they are already full with passengers. Most of the boats can seat from 20 to 26 persons. So if you are in a hurry and ayaw nyo na makipagshare sa mga ibang pasahero at mapera naman kayo at medjo makapal ang bulsa then you can hire a boat going to Malapascua.hehe!  It would cost you roughly around 1500 to 2500 pesos to hire a boat and that price is depending upon the size of the boat. The travel time from Maya port to Malapascua is 30 minutes to an hour depending sa alon at bilis ng bangka. For the commuter boat plying the Maya to Malapascua route, the boat fare is 80 pesos. And if you have large bags and you’re too lazy to carry your bags, then you can hire a porter. The fee for the porter is 20 pesos per bag. Oh, and by the way, if you arrive in Maya port during low tide, you’ll need to ride a small boat going to the large boat because Maya port is not really a developed port so most of the boatmen docked and anchored their boats several meters away from the port in order to avoid damages to their boats. The small boat transferring the passenger to the large boat is not for free, so you need to pay the boatmen 10 pesos if you are a local from Malapascua and 20 pesos if you’re a tourist. Unfair right? Dapat pareho lang ang bayad.hehe! nagkukuripot lang.haha!

The passenger boat at Maya Port

The small boat and the Malapascua beach

To continue with my story, after I paid the fare from the ticket booth, sumakay na ako ng banka and to my surprise, I was the only Filipino tourist. Most of my fellow passengers are from Europe and North America. Feeling ko tuloy nasa ibang bansa ako. Buti na lang Pilipino din yung bangkero at magkakulay kami ng balat, so in short, pwede akong mapagkamalan na part ng boatcrew.hehehe! After around 40 minutes of boat travel, we finally arrived at Malapascua Island, and viewing it from afar, it was beautiful. And because it was already low-tide, and given the fact that there is no port in Malapascua, the large boat will not be able to docked near the shore, so we have to ride another small boat to reach the beach. We have no choice but to ride the small boat and pay another fee kesa naman lumangoy at magtampisaw kami sa hanggang bewang na tubig.hehe!

Upon arrival at the island, I immediately proceeded to the island village, I asked them where’s the cheapest accommodation and where to rent a mountain bike, and they informed me that the Legend Hotel is the only resort with a bike rental. So I walked to the main beach and got to the Legend Hotel and then I rented a bike for 2 hours. The bike rental is 100 per hour pero tinawad ko sa staff at nagpacute na lang ako (kahit hindi naman ako cute.hehe) at sinabi ko na kung pwede 100 per 2 hours na lang, pumayag naman yung staff. I then rode the bike at nagikot na ko sa isla, I rented a bike because I need to look for a cheap accommodation and biking is the fastest and cheapest way for me to roam the island. There are also motorcycle rental but hindi ko afford yun. 500 pesos ang motorcycle rental and it is good for a whole day tour na din but I arrived in Malapascua late in the afternoon na so sayang naman kung magrerent pa ko. So I roam the island with the bike and I looked for cheap accommodation, but to my surprise, all of the cheap hotels and resorts in Malapascua are fully-booked. I was already biking, roaming and I already asked every hotel and resort but all of them are fully-booked and when I asked a local, they said that all of the resort have been fully-booked for a few days already because it’s a peak season due to the fact that it was a Chinese new year holiday. It didn’t came into my mind na peak season pala ang Chinese new year kaya hindi na ko nagpabook in advance sa mga hotel but that was my big mistake. So naiisip ko na makikitulog na lang ako sa barangay hall but luckily, a local resident helped me find an accommodation, buti na lang may nagcheck out ng maaga sa isang resort kaya natulungan ako ng local resident na makuha yung room. Sobrang tulong talaga kapag nakikipagusap at nakikihalobilo ka din sa mga local ng isang lugar.

I checked-in to my room, it was only a fan-room with shared bathroom. After I left my bag, I rode my bike again to roam around the village and to buy a dinner. There are a lot of cheap food stall to satisfy your hunger, madami din talipapa and carenderia na pwede mong makainan, that is if you’re on a budget like me. But if you want a restaurant, then there are also a lot of nice restaurant but they are expensive. Ako kasi sa carenderia lang ako kumakain, mura kasi saka di umaabot ng 50 pesos yung meal ko. May dalawang ulam na may extra rice pa for only 50 pesos, sobrang tipid ko noh?hehehe!

Malapascua beach and the bike that I had rented

After dinner, magsiswimming pa sana ko but I was already tired so I decided na matulog na lang ng maaga. The next day, I woke up early and rented again a bike at Legend Hotel. I biked around the island and biked to the other end of the island. I biked near the lighthouse but I wasn’t been able to find the lighthouse so I just ended up biking to Bantigue Cove. The Bantigue Cove is also beautiful  and it is more of a serene place. I think it only has one resort near the cove. After biking for about 2 hours and visiting several villages around the island, I finally decided to go back to my room and pack my bag. My plan was to leave the island early since I was planning to visit Bantayan Island, but I decided to cancel that plan since it was already 9am and the commuter boat had just left the island, and the next trip was 10am. If I’ll continue with my plan to go to Bantayan, I may not be able to return back to Cebu City on time. I have a friend who will be arriving in Cebu the next day so I need to be in Cebu City on that day. So that was the reason I decided to cancel my Bantayan trip. Anyway, I also didn’t bother to go to the snorkelling site because the water was a little bit choppy or wavy, and based on my experience, it is very tiring to snorkel into a wavy sea.

So while waiting for the next boat bound for Maya Port, I just stayed near the shore and chatted with some locals and tourists. I met these husband and wife who were backpacking in the Philippines. Malapascua was their final spot in their itineraries. They have already toured the Negros Island, Camotes and Cebu City. I found their love story sweet because these couple came from different country. The guy was French and her wife was an American. They met in France and now they are living in China. O di ba, kakaiba ang story nila. Kwentong U.S., France and China.hehehe!

Sunset at Malapascua Island

Bantigue Cove, Malapascua Island

Malapascua Island. Google Map shot

To continue with my travel story, medyo nadelay ang pagalis ng bangka kya medjo matagal din kami tumambay sa pampang, and then after an hour umalis na din kami sakay ng bangka. The sea was kinda 

crazy during our travel and there were huge waves and because of that, it took us more than an hour to travel from Malapascua Island to Maya port. After I arrived at Maya Port, sumakay na ako ng bus bound for Cebu City. There are already lots of Cebu-bound buses at Maya port so you can easily hop on a bus bound for Cebu City. So far, my Malapascua Island experience was an exciting one due to fact that I was able to roam the island. I was able to ride a bike while roaming the island and I was able to enjoy the fresh air of the island. I know that it would had been more enjoyable if I have been able to snorkel in Malapascua but there is always a next time. Maybe next time when I go back to this island, I would be able to see and enjoy its underwater beauty.  Until then, dito na nagtatapos ang aking kwento. Hindi ko na isasama dito yung kwento ko after ko makarating ng Cebu City from Malapascua kasi katulad ng sabi ko kanina, baka makatulog na kayo habang nagbabasa..hehehe! Read my next post na lang tungkol  sa travel destination ko after I arrived in Cebu from Malapascua. You can also visit this website http://www.malapascua.de/ for additional information about Malapascua Island accommodation. Byes!

Cebu via Masbate, an exciting adventure route...

Most of you probably haven’t heard about this route, or some of you might didn’t even know where Masbate province is located, but this Rodeo Capital of the Philippines is located just a little bit north from the island province of Cebu. A few weeks ago, I tried this not-so-ordinary route. I took the Camarines Sur-Masbate-Cebu route. I am from Camarines Sur and the quickest way to go to Cebu from Camarines Sur is to take a bus going to Legazpi City and then from Legazpi Airport, ride a plane bound for Cebu City. There are two airlines plying this route, AirPhil and CebuPacific. It is only a 45 minutes flight from Legazpi City to Cebu. Another method is to ride a Manila-bound plane at Naga Airport and then from Manila, ride another plane bound for Cebu. Another alternative way going to Cebu from Camarines Sur is via Samar-Leyte route. You will be riding a bus bound for Matnog, Sorsogon and then from Matnog Port, you take the RORO bound for Allen, Samar and then take a bus bound for Ormoc in the province of Leyte and then from Ormoc you then take a RORO or a fastcraft bound for Cebu.

Bituon Beach, Mobo, Masbate Province

I’ll be sharing with you the information for Masbate to Cebu route. If you are coming from Manila, you can take a bus bound for Masbate City. There are several bus companies plying this route. Some of these buses are Raymond Transport, RORO Bus, and MegaBus line. The travel time takes around 12 to 15 hours, and that includes the 3hour ferry ride from Pilar Port, Sorsogon to Masbate City. If you are coming from Naga City, Camarines Sur, you can ride a bus bound for Daraga City or Legazpi City. If you get off at Legazpi City, there are several buses and van bound for Pilar. You need to go to Pilar Port because that is common jumpoff point for Masbate City. There is also the Pio Duran port to Masbate City port route but I don’t have the details for that route. Anyway, if you happen to get off at Daraga City, there are jeepneys bound for Pilar port. The terminal for those jeepneys bound for Pilar is located near the van terminal in Daraga and near the Shell gasoline station. The travel time from Daraga City to Pilar Port is one hour and the fare is 50 pesos.

From Pilar Port, there are several vessel plying the Pilar to Masbate City route. You can choose to ride the fastcraft by Montenegro Shipping Line, the RORO, or those big pumpboats. It only cost around 200 to 250 pesos. The travel time for pumpboats is 2 to 2.5 hours. The quickest way to go to Masbate from Pilar is via a fastcraft. It is also the expensive way. The travel time is 1.5 to 2hours and it cost around 349 pesos. Another way is via RORO, however, most of these ferries depart early in the morning since most of the trucks and buses from Manila arrive in Pilar early in the morning. The ferry or RORO fare cost around 200 to 250 pesos and the travel time is usually from 3 to 4 hours. You can check this website for more information: http://www.montenegrolines.com.ph/

Inside the pumpboat bound for Masbate City. The pumpboat can accomodate up to 100 passenger

Pilar Port, Sorsogon. You can see the typical pumpboat plying the Pilar-Masbate route

Mt. Bulusan. This picture was taken near Pilar port

Mayon Volcano. This picture was taken near Pilar port, Sorsogon

In Masbate province, there are two ways to go to Cebu province. One is the Masbate City to Cebu City route being served by TransAsia Shipping line and SuperShuttle Shipping. The other route is Cataingan to

Bogo City being served by Montenegro Shipping Line. The Masbate to Cebu City route travel time is 11 to 13 hours. The TransAsia ship leaves Masbate port at around 6pm every Tuesday and Thursday only, while the SuperShuttle RORO leaves Masbate port at around 5am every Wednesday only. The SuperShuttle RORO vessel ply the route Batangas-Masbate-Cebu route. For SuperShuttle ferry the cost is 555 pesos for one way only. For TransAsia the ferry fare is 605 pesos for economy, 870 pesos for an airconditioned accomodation and 1,492 pesos for a cabin accomodation. You can visit these websites for more information: http://www.transasiashipping.com/schedules/  and http://supershuttleferry.com/web/

Masbate City

Masbate City Port

The economy bunker bed of TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia fare matrix for Masbate City-Cebu City route

TransAsia M/V Asia Indonesia plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route 

If you want the cheapest and fastest way to go to Cebu, then you should take the Cataingan to Bogo City route. The ferry travel time from Cataingan to Bogo City is 6 to 7 hours only. The ferry leaves Cataingan Port at around 12 noon and the ferry leaves Bogo City for Cataingan at around 12midnight. The fare is 365 pesos only. However please take note that Cataingan is 1.5 hours travel from Masbate City. There are jeepneys and vans bound for Cataingan from Masbate City. And also please take into consideration that Bogo City is around 3 hours bus ride from Cebu City. There are several bus companies plying the Bogo City to Cebu City route. The Polambato Port in Bogo City is kind of a little bit far from eGwen Highway or from downtown Bogo City so you still need to ride a habal-habal or a tricycle to go to the main highway or to the city proper.

Cataingan Port, Masbate Province

Montenegro RORO plying the Cataingan-Bogo City route

Montenegro RORO fare. Cataingan-Bogo route

Montenegro RORO schedule. Cataingan-Bogo route

The bunker bed in Montenegro RORO plying the Cataingan-Bogo City route

So if you will be going to those destinations in the northern part of Cebu, then the Cataingan Port to Polambato Port, Bogo City is the recommended route. Malapascua Island and Bantayan island are the famous destination in the northern part of Cebu. Bogo City is a 1 hour travel away from Bantayan and Malapascua.

The RORO Bus Line also ply the route Masbate City to Cebu City. Their buses leave Masbate City at around 8am or 9am and then travels to Cataingan port, and then from Cataingan port it takes the ferry at around 12noon. It will arrive at Polambato Port in Bogo City at around 6pm and then it will continue its travel to Cebu City North Bus terminal.  And then for the Cebu City to Masbate City route, the RORO Bus leaves Cebu North Bus terminal at around 8:30pm or 9pm and it will travel to Bogo City for 3 hours, and then from Polambato Port in Bogo it will take the 12 midnight ferry bound for Cataingan. By around 6am, the ferry arrives in Cataingan and the bus will continue its travel to Masbate City. By around 7:30am or 8am, you will be in Masbate City.

RORO Bus plying the Masbate City-Cebu City route

Sunrise view at Cataingan Port, Masbate

Bogo City tricycle

Malapascua Island, Daangbantayan, Cebu

Pintos, the delicacy of Bogo City

Polambato Port, Bogo City

If you happen to miss the RORO Bus bound for Masbate City at Cebu North Bus terminal, you can just take a Ceres Bus bound for Daanbantayan, Maya or Bogo City. The travel time is 3 hours from Cebu City. If you take the Daanbantayan or Maya bound buses, get off at the junction going to Polambato Port. It is about 2 or 3 kilometers away from the Bogo City proper. There is not much signage going to the port so you must tell the driver or bus conductor to drop you off at the junction going to Polambato Port. From that junction, it’s still another 4 to 5 kilometers travel. There are habal habal or motorcycle or tricycle on that junction and you can ride on those transportation mode. The fare is 30 pesos. If you took the Bogo City bound buses from Cebu City, you can get off at Bogo City bus terminal and then you go to the tricycle terminal near Jollibee to take the tricycle bound for Polambato Port. The travel usually takes around 15 to 25 minutes. The tricycle fare is 25 pesos. The Montenegro ferry at Polambato Port, Bogo City departs at around 12 midnight so you must be on that port before 12midnight.

I hope those information would help you in your next travel adventure. If you’re on for an adventure, then this route surely won’t disappoint you. There are lots of beautiful places to visit in Cebu, Masbate, Sorsogon, Albay and Camarines Sur province. So what are you waiting for? Byahe na!