Art In Island: Tickle Your Mind, Trick Your Eyes And Be Part Of Art This 2018!

And the long wait is over! Whether you're celebrating it or not, Merry Christmas! Are you enjoying your day today? Let me think, pretty much you still have hangover from last night party or you're still sober because you need to meet your godchildren. Yeah, I feel you, #godfatherduty. Well, the sad part for me is Christmas day always spoils and makes me bloated. Food is good but I need to stay healthy. So, I'll try hard to control my sugar cravings and reduce my carb intake again. It was a busy morning today with a little bit of stress, I had to multitask, cooking while writing this article. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it tomorrow for me to post it before the year ends. Goodbye for now, netflix marathon.

And the great news is, tantananan(with drum roll), this is my last article for 2017! Yey! I can't wait for the new year to start and before the countdown happens, I'd like to thank God for a great year. It's really way better than 2016. Thank you for all the blessings, as they say to God be the glory. Year 2018 is fast approaching and I'm looking forward to more travel adventures, more food trips and more articles to post on my blog. Oh I forgot! More views on my blog and youtube channel(SuperMarkyMacky MOR) too. I haven't created any new year's resolutions so far but I'm hoping that this new year would give me a lot of good vibes.

Since this will be the last article for this year, I'll try to make it more special and more fun. For sure your kids will love it. Guess what? It's my dream turned into reality, welcome to Art in Island! It’s not a secret that I love going to museums and for this year(2017) I've already visited 7 different museums and galleries in Metro Manila, from the traditional to the 3D(virtual) kind of museum. Do you feel bored? If someone would ask me, I'd definitely answer it with a big "NO". Just say "Yes" for more museum visits. We'll never know, perhaps someday I could be part of Guinness World Records. Call me "The Museum Man". Just kidding! 

It was last March of this year(2017) when I knew about Art in Island and I right away added it on my bucket list. I've been wanting to go to this place ever since I started visiting different museums in the Metro. However, to tell you honestly I thought it was only just a dream to go here because the entrance fee is really higher than the fees I paid to those museums I've been to. Suddenly something happened, an unexpected surprise. Indeed, sometimes things will turn out in your favor. Let me share you the story. Don't worry it'll be a brief story. Scroll down please!

Do you believe in luck? Honestly, I thought I was cursed ever since I was a kid and I always feel like I can't win at anything. But God really makes surprises and like love He moves in mysterious ways. My perception somehow changed when I won a fun contest of Art in Island on facebook. Thank God for the miracle! It was roughly third week of November(2017) when they posted a question on their wall, it's like this "Anong gusto mong matanggap na regalo ngayong Pasko?"( What gift would you like to receive this Christmas?). I don't normally join contests on social media but since I was not working that time, I put an answer on the comment box for fun.

My answer was like this "Everyone is wanting to have free 2 Art in Island passes. Me too! But instead of me using it. I'll just pay for my entrance and let these 2 passes be used by my sister and her son. Christmas is all about giving gifts to your loved ones or someone without expecting in return and that's my goal, a well-spent day in Art in Island with them. Seeing the smile on their faces is already enough for me to say that Christmas is God's gift for me". The answer worked and after a week, Art in Island announced the winner on their fb page. It was me! The positive news has left me totally flabbergasted. I still didn't believe until I received a confirmation from them. That "yahoo moment" is unforgettable.

Many of you would ask "We'd like to go there too but where is it located?". Honestly, that was also our challenge when we went there. Here's a hint, as long as you know Smart Araneta Coliseum aka The Big Dome you won't get lost. 

Address: 175 15th Avenue, Brgy. Socorro, Cubao 1109 Quezon City, Philippines. (At the back of Club Expo)

Operating Hours: Tuesdays-Sundays, 9:30AM-9:30PM(Open on Holidays)

The museum is so big, in fact it it took us more than four hours to interact with all the 3D paintings. Hence, I highly suggest to go there early to maximize your time. One main reasons why you're there is to take pictures and post it on instagram, so make sure to bring either a spare good quality camera or power bank for your smartphone. Enjoy!

They say that "promises are meant to be broken", well it's not all the time if you have guts. As promised, I went to Art in Island with my nephew and my sister, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant"(by Dr. Seuss). As winner of their contest and as their promised also, I got the free 2 passes worth Php 1,000(roughly $20) when we went to the ticket booth, plus gift pack. Thank you again! I only paid Php 400(roughly $8) for my nephew's entrance fee. Somehow, I was able to save money.

Entrance fee for Adults: Php 500(roughly $10)

For students: Php 400(roughly $8) *Don't forget to bring your school ID

*Discounts for Senior Citizen cardholders and PWDs.

*FREE admission for children 3 feet and below.

*They also have events and promotions every month.

Be part of art! This is like the slogan of Art in Island. What I like about this cool museum is, everyone is encouraged to interact with 3D artworks. Guests are free to somewhat break the norm, create more fun and crazy experience and see museum in a more artistic way. As we go towards the museum, we are like entering a fairytale world. Indeed, a very family-friendly museum and one of the best places to hangout with friends. 

Art in Island is one of the biggest 3D art museums in Asia and there are 11 different zones. Let's count!

1. Optical Illusion Zone

2. Object Art Zone

3. Fantasy Zone

4. Religion Zone

5. Masterpiece Zone

6. Central Hall

7. Europe's beauty and wonders

8. Animal Zone

9. Aqua Zone

10. Winter and Christmas

11. Love Zone

Thank you Art in Island for painting a big smile on our faces and tricking our eyes. Hope to visit you again! Whether you're a kid or a kid at heart, this place will surely welcome you and it has a value for money. It's time to tickle your imagination! The staffs are friendly and accommodating.

So friends and countrymen, before you go there you might wanna read few reminders courtesy of Art in Island. 

1. The walls and even the floors are painted, so to protect it before entering the museum, you'll be asked to take off your shoes and deposit them in the shoe counter. You'll be in socks or barefooted while touring the museum.

2. Flash is a big No-No! Using your camera's flash when taking photos will affect the lighting and may change the painting's appearance.

3. No food and drinks allowed inside the museum.

4. Sorry but pets are not allowed too.

5. Make sure you look for the "Photo Point" stickers on the floor when taking pictures. It will give you the best location to get the painting's 3D effect.

6. Forget all those poses you always do when taking pictures! Use your creativity and imagination to make the photo more amusing and memorable.

That's it! Are you ready to be part of art?

For inquiries and reservations, you may contact them at (02) 421 1356 and like their facebook page.

To my readers, thank you so much. Just keep on reading my blog and hopefully next year will be a blast again. Oh! Enjoy your countdown to 2018. Two of my goals are, first is to travel more to share more good vibes and second is to be famous in the world of social media. Just kidding! On a serious note, please help me spread my lifestyle blog by liking and following these accounts. Scroll a bit.

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Guess what? Art in Island has a new attraction, the first ever 3D+Media Art in the Philippines or "Paintings in Motion". It's roughly five minutes show about how God created earth in a very artistic way. To get idea, check it on my youtube channel. Thanks and see you next year! 

Sea Residences: The Under $20 (Php 1,000) Staycation Challenge!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Let's rejoice! Well, not only that but most of us also consider December as one of the busiest months. Do you agree? Hands up! Actually, I'm one of them. Why? As we all know we are now in the holiday season. Everyone is busy as bee and whether we like it or not we are somewhat required to be a one day millionaire. In reality, instead of saving it for a rainy day, our 13th month pay or Christmas bonus often goes into the merchants' pockets. We shop a lot just to make sure that everyone(from your family, friends, godchildren to coworkers) on your list will receive a unique gift from you. Pretty much if you won't do this, you won't unwrap any gifts under the Christmas tree. No, just kidding. It's still best to give gifts without expecting anything in return. Furthermore, we buy new clothes and new shoes but if you're so lucky and received very big holiday bonus from your work, you'll surely buy new car or new house. As much as possible we also want everything new to prepare for the new year. Let's just call it our "start of something new".

Speaking of new, I'd like to congratulate my friend who just gave birth on December 8. Hence, she's now a newly crowned mom and will start a new chapter of her life.

Many couples also pick December as their wedding month. In fact I was invited by my college friend to be on her wedding day. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend because I had to visit my friend in the hospital who gave birth and her baby Callie. Although I didn't come I was fortunately present on my friend's surprise bridal shower. Honestly, it was more of a reunion than the usual bridal shower with male dancer(s). You know what I mean? That's rated PG(Parental Guidance). While most of us had their brainstorming session about what to wear for the christmas party and where to host it, us had our meeting about where to celebrate the bridal shower. Good thing, we didn't think so much. We thought of only one thing. Scroll down please.

So we chose to stay at Sea Residences, Sunrise Dr., Pasay City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. We thought that it would be better to rent a condo unit just within Metro Manila than a staycation in Tagaytay again. Yeah, because it's cheaper for us, more accessible and more swimming pools. Like what I said on my previous article that nowadays, booking a place to stay is easy peasy because of apps like Airbnb and booking.com. Therefore, more condo units are being converted into business, I call it "Rent out your glam room, please!".

However, it didn't go smoothly when we went there because the owner of the unit was unidentified and our reservation was denied. The room we booked on booking.com was a disaster. We thought of pushing the Tagaytay staycation but not so strong since we also didn't want to experience another inconvenience.

Indeed, every cloud has a silver lining. The guards told us that there's someone also inside the Sea Residences who could offer an available room. So, we waited for an hour, hoping for a miracle.

And then Ate Cecil approached us with big smile. She is a caretaker for several condo units and it came as a surprise when she gave us great rate, Php 2,800(roughly 56 US Dollars) good for 4-5 persons. Totally way better than the price of booking.com! Yahoo! A lucky accident.

So, after my staycation in Tagaytay Prime Residences, I thought of asking and challenging myself. Marky can you find another cheap yet good place to stay?

Yes, I've found another one. For sure finding a great and cheap room rentals will now be my objective everytime I need it not only for bridal shower or family bonding but for all occasions. In the Philippines, living here is way cheaper than living in the U.S. or London. In fact, there's really a big difference as far as price is concerned. One example, staycation in a lovely Sea Residences for less than 1000 Pesos(roughly 20 US Dollars) per person and per night. Do I sound like I'm joking? Honestly, it's true. You can even find room rentals for only 20 US Dollars per month but don't expect quality stay there. Okay?

Aside from pool and all that jazz, I like the shower room because there's an automatic washing machine inside, sadly we weren't able to use it because we only stayed for a night. The whole unit is clean too.

Ate Cecil gave us the room with a city view when I said to her that I'll blog our stay and maybe she felt sad when we checked in late because of the hustle. Perhaps, she's really just nice. This balcony is perfect at night especially if you're a heavy drinker and want to be a dramatic actor.

Welcome to our room! Compare to the room that I had stayed in Tagaytay, it was smaller and not a themed room. Simply normal and clean. Although the bed was only good for two, all of us still able to sleep because of the convertible sofa. Actually we didn't sleep a lot, our hours were allotted primarily to fun and quality talk. OMG! Time flies so fast. We started as college classmates and now we are like part of "friends for keeps" group on facebook.

Television, WiFi, Kitchenware, dinnerware, microwave oven, fridge and functional cooking area. What else can I ask for? Free pool and air-conditioned room are there too. I guess everything was there and there's no need to go to the balcony and cry. Just make sure to buy toiletries. There are convenience stores and restaurants outside Sea Residences where you can buy or eat, you may not really need to go to SM Hypermarket especially if you don't want to walk for like 5 minutes under the sun.

 "Luckiest are those, who still have their school friends as best friends", I just saw this on social media and it's really true. Our one night stay in Sea Residences was for keeps. We shared our stories with each other and laughed a lot. Hopefully there'll be another reunion next year. My apologies for not including their pictures on this article since I'm somewhat protecting their privacy but don't worry I was not alone. My main point of creating this article is not to brag but really for you to have an idea or option just in case that you're planning to have a budget-friendly staycation in the near future. This is a perfect place for us. I only paid 750 Pesos(roughly 14 US Dollars). So, there you go. Another success story has been told. Thank you for always reading my blog. For more inquiries about Sea Residences and how you can book a room, feel free to contact Ate Cecil Tagle via mobile phone +63(0)9179553759. 

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It’s Back! The People-Friendly Festival Of Lights 2017 At Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati City

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! It's less than three weeks away. Can you feel it in the air? Aren't you excited? Of course we are excited. Right? There are a lot of reasons to be excited, especially if you are a Filipino. It is not hidden that the Philippines is predominantly Roman Catholic nation. Hence, we have gazillion fiestas, we are happy people and we always want to celebrate life. Indeed, one celebration that we can't set aside is Christmas. OMG! I can't wait! I can't wait to eat classic Filipino sweet spaghetti and fruit salad on Noche Buena(Christmas Eve Feast). I can't wait to attend the Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi(Rooster's Mass), family reunion and white elephant gift exchange. Definitely, I won't forget my godchildren. I can't wait to buy gifts and expertly wrap it.

Moreover, our excitement even transcends on social media like facebook and instagram. Many millennials post pictures related to Christmas and add hashtags like #christmasiscoming and #12daysofchristmas. Believe it or not, different lights and sounds shows seem sprouting too everywhere like mushrooms as early as November. Let's not go too far, the best example to share is the Ayala Triangle Gardens "Festival of Lights" in Makati City. For nine years of annual show, it has now become like a household name every holiday season.

Welcome back again to Makati City! "Make it happen. Make it Makati". Being one of the richest cities in the Philippines it is sure for Makati to make great and spectacular things happen like the Ayala Triangle Gardens "Festival of Lights". It's my second time to create an article about this annual show, although(sad to say) I didn't get so much views last year on this blog. Simply because I really like it and fortunately for someone like me who lives nearby Makati CBD(Central Business District), going to Ayala is very easy almost everyday. The theme of the show also changes every year, from lights to sounds. So, there's no way for viewers to get fed up and usually it can only be seen for roughly sixty days, from first week of November to first week of January the following year. In short, you really need to see it and feel the spirit of Christmas.

Things you need to know before you watch the show. Just in case you have free time this week and you're planning to see the show. That's really a cool idea my friend! Luckily, the show kicked off earlier than last year. It runs daily, every 30 minutes from 6PM-10PM, from November 6, 2017 until January 7, 2018. Whether you're a blogger like me, photographer, employee working in Makati, group of friends, family or kid at heart. Everyone can go and really enjoy the dancing lights. It such a people-friendly show. Don't forget to bring umbrella and bottled water, if it rains or if everything doesn't go as planned. 

"Twinkle, twinkle, christmas lights. You're like diamonds in the sky." I was with my mom, sister and nephew when we watched the "Festival of Lights" last November. I thought we were somewhat stargazing in Ayala. For almost a decade of entertaining people, I can say that the wow factor is still there. 

Laser lights and haze machines were added to create more drama to the show.

Glimpse of the "Festival of Lights 2017" show. Sometimes it's better to create a video than to describe what's happening during the magical show.

Pretty much the challenges we had faced when we went to Ayala Triangle Gardens were the heavy rain which really prevented us to fully enjoy the show and yeah, photobombers which really prevented me to upload a perfect profile picture for my facebook account. But that's okay, for sure that was also an issue for them when they went home.

Selfie here, there and everywhere. Filipinos really are proficient selfie takers, even without a selfie stick we can surely find our angle and create an instagrammable pictures.

You're not dreaming. It's true. Honestly, there were times that I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I even thought of the famous "Avatar" movie. Just to share to you also, the show are created by roughly 1.6 million LED lights. Wow! Classic Filipino Christmas songs are also part of the sounds.

The Mcmicking Memorial. Not only colorful lights as preferred background for the profile picture but the newly unveiled memorial too. It was also became one of the best picture taking spots for spectators.

My family and I genuinely had fun watching the show even though it only lasted for roughly seven minutes. We needed to wait for another show since there's a 30-minute interval every hour. Due to the killjoy rain they decided to stop the show at around 9PM but I guess we're still fortunate to watch it for like an hour because usually they cancel it right away for safety reasons. It was also more fun compared to last year because I didn't go there alone. That's all folks! Thank you for reading this new article. It's truly one of my busiest months this year and the great thing about it is two or three more articles will be posted on my blog before we say hello to 2018. Another great news! I just started my vlog(video blog) on Youtube last week. Don't forget to subscribe on my channel SuperMarkyMacky MOR. It's also about travel and lifestyle. Be also part of my travel group on facebook. Just search SuperMarkyMacky & Folks and add your facebook account. Please also follow and like my facebook page Supermarkymacky etc. and instagram account supermarkymacky.