Planespotting Page Now Open!

Hi readers!

I'll be deleting the April 26 Spotting session posts as it's not reader-friendly. Nonetheless, this blog will remain active and will still feature some planespotting write ups. The other blog is wholly dedicated for planespotting pictures and videos. Write ups will be very rare to not at all. That's sort of my own airliners.net

Enjoy!

New blog: theindigardenerspots.blogspot.com

Quick Guide to Philippine Planespotting in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL/RPLL)

The planespotting group in the Philippines is known as the Philippine Planespotters Group (PPSG). It's composed of planespotters mostly from the Philippines and sometimes from other countries. Local planespotters are based in different airports in the Philippines, usually in Manila (MNL/RPLL), Cebu (CEB/RPVM) and Davao (DVO/RPMD). The group can be contacted through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/philippineplanespotters/

Planespotting in Manila (MNL/RPLL)

There are many planespotting locations in MNL, usually close to Runway 06. Spotting in 24 is quite rare; there are only a few good spots in 24. Here's a few of the possible spotting locations in Manila:

 Satellite image courtesy of Google Maps. Legends by fellow planespotter Johannes Paul Victorina Lastimoza

A. PPSG HQ (http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=14.498150&lon=120.997823&z=18&m=b)

It is located near the threshold of Runway 06. Here you can get close up shots of departing aircraft should 06 be the active. However, you can only get belly shots if the other one is. You can also take pictures of landing aircraft but there's a better spotting location if landing A/C is your preference. Spotting in this location is best during afternoon onwards; sunlight shines on the airplanes' fuselage. Food and drinks are available at very affordable prices. There is a covered area in this location as well, should you wish to take a rest. The only disadvantage when taking close up pics of departing aircraft would be the airport fence. If you can insert the lens then there's no problem. If not, however, you might end up having a vignette effect on your pictures. Another would be the airport guards. Although this problem was already resolved, there are still some who would say that it's prohibited to take pictures of airplanes even if the airport General Manager (through an official letter) said that there's no rule existing on the ban on planespotting and that it's perfectly fine to planespot.

PPSG HQ

Lunch in the PPSG HQ

B. Tulay (http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=14.495817&lon=120.999594&z=18&m=b)

This is only walking distance from PPSG HQ. Here you get a good view of landing aircraft. You can see departing aircraft but your view is limited. Just be ready to bear the foul smell coming from the river.

Viewpoint in the Tulay spotting location

Spotters in action waiting for the arriving A/C to come closer

C. Along Kaingin Road
For side shots of arriving and departing aircraft, plus a good view of Terminal 1. You will need to climb up the concrete culverts/trees lined along the road to get a view of the runway/terminal.


D. Terminal 1 Departure Deck

Quite far from the PPSG HQ. I haven't tried spotting here, but this area is a good alternative when 24 is the active. You can get close up shots of parked aircraft in T1 and in the Remote Parking Bays. The Antonov 124 usually parks in the remote bays should it land in MNL. The location isn't spotter-friendly, however. Airport guards may be the issue but an inviting smile and good reasoning can pull you off. Good for rare airplane spotting as they usually park at the Remote Parking Bays.

E. Departure Area Off Ramp
Same restrictions as to location D. Provides you a good viewpoint of domestic aircraft arriving from Runway 24 OR rotating from Runway 06. The location allows you to include the Control Tower in your composition.

F. Along West and East Service Roads
Relatively safe for planespotters. Provides you a "province" look of Runway 24 arrivals. You also have the option to include trees and tall grasses or the Makati/Bonifacio Global City skylines for a more modern look. Offers a good vantage point to LTP and Villamor provided your lens has enough focal reach...Dramatic runway 24 late afternoon/sunset departures are also in the menu.

With special thanks to Johannes Paul Victorina Lastimoza, fellow PPSG member, for his added contribution in this guide.

Partial Lunar Eclipse in the Philippines

This is a quick entry for now... I'll put more details regarding the eclipse sometime. For now I'll post pictures :) All of the pictures were taken today, April 26, 2013.

 Full Moon hours before the eclipse. Taken 12:02 AM in the Philippines

Original photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/93327846@N07/8681318735/in/photostream

 Partial lunar eclipse in the Philippines. Taken 3:45 AM

Original photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93327846@N07/8682429946/in/photostream

Flowers and the Moon

Since I'm in the mood to take pictures and post it, here's some flower pictures for you! Take note, though, that the flowers haven't opened yet :)

New Life

 

Settings: 13mm, f/5, 1/640 sec, ISO 100

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93327846@N07/8674206384/in/photostream

Hope in a Flower

Settings: 8mm, f/4.2, 1/1600 sec, ISO 100 with Auto Retouch and Toy Effect Creative Retouch

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93327846@N07/8674200534/in/photostream


For some time the moon kept me occupied. So here's a moon picture~

 

Waxing Gibbous Moon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93327846@N07/8676712039/in/photostream 

Commuting Solo

(you can see my previous post on commuting here)

As mentioned in my post above, I'm learning how to commute. And thankfully I was able to pick up the skill very fast. In a matter of days I was able to commute solo. And that day is the same day this blog post is posted... Below would be my experience...

April 15, 2013. Card day in La Salle Green Hills. I and my friends planned to hang out in school to talk about anything... Acads, classmates, grades, and so on. And like what I've said, I'm learning how to commute, so I asked my dad a few days back if I could try commuting solo to LSGH. He allowed me to...

(it's as if you're having your first solo flight... Nah!)

So he told me that I'll ride with them in the car going to my mom's office. Upon arriving at the office I'll be riding a bus going to LSGH. And after the gimmick I would ride a bus going to that same office. From there I and my mom will go home using the car...

ROUTE: RCBC Plaza to La Salle Green Hills
TARGET TIME: 8:30-9:00 AM

Okay... Our driver will just guide me to where you can board a bus from Ayala then he'll leave me from thereon. We arrived at the office at past 8:00 in the morning. I'm already late, then. But before boarding a bus I took the chance to pass by Makati Central Post Office to see if I'm lucky to have new stamps for my collection. Unfortunately, there's none. So we went ahead with going to the bus stop. He told me that the bus stops somewhere at Buendia Ave. so we went westbound to find one. We were able to find an air conditioned bus with the sign ORTIGAS ILALIM in no time so I boarded the bus and our driver left me from there. P18 is the fare going to Ortigas. The bus is MERSAN, by the way.

 

On the way we have GMA 7 to keep us entertained. And have I mentioned my interest for the British show Sherlock? Well, the show on the bus was Detective Conan dubbed in Filipino, as seen in the picture, so I watched anyway... The travel time was roughly an hour.

 

Northbound @ EDSA

I arrived at LSGH at about 9:30 in the morning. Late, but that's okay. It was no big deal, thankfully. Then goes our gimmick. One of them gave me J.Co, so I was like "Okay, thanks a lot :D.. But I'm commuting... How can I bring this? :))" We'll tackle that later. We bought Makati Supermarket Spaghetti for lunch at Unimart... We commuted back and forth between LSGH and Unimart for us not to consume much time... Hours passed and it was 3:00 in the afternoon. By that time we finished the gimmick and we went to Annapolis (classmate's house) to have a little rest. We went there by walking from La Salle to there, by the way.

ROUTE: Annapolis to RCBC

TARGET TIME: Before 6 in the evening

I was supposed to leave my classmate's house by 4 but my mom allowed me to leave at 4:30. So yeah, we hanged out for 30 minutes more... By 4:30 I left the house to get a bus. EDSA is nearby, thankfully. They accompanied me to the station before totally leaving me. In no time (again) I was able to board an air conditioned PAMANA bus with the sign LRT AYALA LEVERIZA. The bus wasn't filled; only about 3 rows can be occupied. I paid P23. 

Onboard the PAMANA bus

Southbound @ EDSA Ortigas

And oh, by the way! What about the J.Co? Well thankfully I was able to have it with me without struggling. Thank God! It's a special one for me...

Carrying the J.Co

Roughly by an hour we're already in Ayala. The bus got filled when we were there. So at Ayala Ave. Extension cor. Malugay St. I got off the bus and off I am to RCBC. I arrived there at about 5:15. Not bad!

Well, I've never shown bus tickets here in my blog. But this time here's my first set of tickets in commuting solo!

Me and the Philippine National Railways Train

As I've mentioned in my previous blog post, it's been my childhood dream to ride the Philippine National Railways train. Everytime we go to my grandparents' house (in Parañaque) I always get fascinated by the blue COMMEX trains of PNR which rarely (for me) show up when we're in the service road. That was before I got fascinated by airplanes (but I still do for PNR).

The PNR COMMEX trains... (image from wn.com / Renzelle Mae Abasolo)

My parents always discouraged me on riding it because of its poor state. Much more, informal settlers beside the rails throw human waste/garbage on the trains. For sure you wouldn't want to come home or go to office smelling foul. But that never discouraged me to realize that dream...

Thankfully, the state of PNR has improved over the years. One of which would be the relocation of informal settlers away from the rails.

South Korea donated their second-hand DMU's to PNR. Although second-hand, it's still in good shape, and its interior is encouraging... Moreover, it can run fast. The old "bulok" (my dad describes the cars that way) trains would run slow, but this one can run as fast as 60 kph. Not very fast, but reasonably fast. 

 The Korean-donated DMU. Image from Dark_Lord_bus_hunter08. (Original pic)

While learning how to commute from my dad, I suggested that I ride the PNR. He discouraged me 4 x 4. I insisted, he insisted more. At the end, I rode the clean and airconditioned PNR DMU on the first day of learning.. A childhood dream realized!

More improvements made! Japan donated their second-hand train sets to PNR as well. Again, although second hand, it's in perfect shape. PNR then used the donated cars to serve Naga/Albay routes (which had been discontinued due to a typhoon damaging the rails and neglect). Also, they repainted their old engines. It looks "new" again :)

Because of that I also wanted to ride the Bicol Express (serving that route) to get the experience of riding a train long haul (other than airplanes of course!). Moreover, riding it wouldn't make a big hole on your pocket even if you get the sleeper coaches. The time now is summer time. I proposed to my dad that we ride the PNR this summer to visit Albay but he discouraged me again since it'll just consume your time and that the train travels at night; he said. The point of riding (to see things outside) is defeated.

Oh well... I just hope that the Bicol Express will wait for me. Who else wants to ride the PNR?

I own none of the pictures posted in this blog post. Should you be the owner and would wish that the photo be removed then I will gladly accept the request.

Learning to Commute...

It's quite a shame for me to learn how to commute at the age I'm in. I should have learned that skill years before... It's not the very first time I've commuted, however. When I was a child I'd oftentimes be with our house cook in commuting via jeepney to the market to buy ingredients for our dishes. There I've "learned" how to commute. Hop in, pay and disembark at your destination. Since then it's always been that way; I haven't commuted solo or at least be given the chance to pick the right jeep and to pay for the fare.

My first time commuting solo is via tricycle from a nearby station at home until our parish. That was a year ago. Again, quite a shame since I'm already "late" with it. My school's "parish involvement" project (thankfully) forced me into this. At first it's "inconvenience" for me but now I'm enjoying it; I've extended my help after the project (which is the objective of parish involvement).

I have had other commuting experiences from other countries like in Spain. I was part of World Youth Day held in Madrid last 2011 and most of our transport (I was with the Philippine Lasallian Family group) was via the Metro Madrid train, the EMT (blue city bus), and the Renfe train (going to Alcorcon). We were given a ticket that's valid for all modes of transportation. Commuting there is very much different here...

(I'll post a pic of the ticket if I can still find it)


My dad made me (thankfully) learn how to commute due to my increased out-of-the-house activities. Projects at classmates' house, gimmicks, school affairs and many more. Going to those places using our car is already too expensive (I live in Parañaque; usual destinations would be in San Juan/Pasig/etc.). It would have been cheaper if we stayed at our old house (in San Juan; explains my schooling in LSGH) although we don't regret moving to our current residence.


First route to learn: From my house to La Salle Green Hills
Target arrival time: 8:00 AM

From my house, you take a tricycle going to SM Bicutan. Then, you cross the other side to either ride the bus or the Philippine National Railways (PNR) train. If you ride a "B" bus then that's the only bus you'll have to ride 'till Ortigas (the plate indicates ORTIGAS ILALIM). If you ride the train, however, you can either take a "C" bus (that stops at all stations including Ortigas) or take the MRT. After that La Salle Green Hills is a walk away.

So I and our driver (who'll teach me) left the house at 7:00 AM. We rode the tricycle (P10) some five minutes after and by 7:20 AM (15 minutes travel time) we're in SM Bicutan. We crossed to the other side using the footbridge and decided on which mode of transpo are we going to use... Bus or train?

Try po natin yung PNR...

We checked and saw that the next train arrives at 8:00 AM.

Di tayo makakaabot sa La Salle kung mag-ttrain po tayo. Mag bus na lang tayo...

We then joined the crowd waiting for the bus. Most of the buses are Ordinary Fare buses. Airconditioned buses are quite rare in that route. Then I realized that all of us are doing everything just to ride a bus, regardless if you'll be cramped or it's ordinary. Ride the bus- you're good! Some thirty minutes passed (7:50). We tried to cram ourselves in but to no avail.

Di na tayo makakaabot nyan. Mag PNR na lang tayo. Dali! Parating ng yung susunod na tren.

We went up to the footbridge, and saw four buses. We still took the PNR to avoid the risk. So a ticket to the train costs P10... Quite cheaper than a bus!

There were a lot of people waiting as well. 8:00 am and the Korean-donated DMU arrived at the station. Upon opening of the doors the people crammed themselves in, regardless of the orders being said by the station guard to give way to disembarking passengers. I wanted to obey, but I had no choice. If I did then I may have to wait for a long time again. Thankfully, everyone in the station was able to board the train... And off we go! The train is cramped as usual, and the aircon isn't strong enough to keep us cool, but that's better for me already! I can get used to it... The train engineer always warned us of pickpockets. I heeded the warning.

Inside the cramped PNR DMU. I'm not complaining about it :)

My parents always discouraged me of riding the PNR, but that's another story. Riding it has been my childhood dream. (You can read about it here.)

Mas mabilis nga mag PNR! Ayan o, traffic sa SLEX!

Good choice, then. Riding the PNR... We saw the traffic at SLEX (which is not unusual) and realized that riding the bus would be more time consuming. We disembarked at Magallanes Station. Fun ride!

It's a long walk to the bus stations but that doesn't matter. The MRT station is closer. We considered riding the MRT but the lines are long so we rode the bus instead. We rode an airconditioned "C" bus going to Ortigas (P15) and as usual it is cramped. We're lucky as we're the last passengers able to cram ourselves in. At Ayala most of the passengers disembarked so we were able to sit in the chairs. After that everything's smooth sailing. I was able to arrive at LSGH at 9:00 AM. Total travel time: 2 hours.

Going home...

La Salle Green Hills to home
No target time

We left LSGH at about 12:20 in the afternoon. We boarded a J. BEA bus (with the plate SUCAT BICUTAN) at 12:40 PM. It's an ordinary fare bus. Our driver asked me if it's okay; I said yes (doesn't matter much to me anyway). The fare is P22 per head.

Onboard the J. BEA bus. The pilots of British Airways flight 5390 experienced harsher winds...

The travel time was quite fast.. I don't remember what time we arrived at Bicutan but we arrived at home at about 1:40 PM. Again, we rode the tricycle going back. Total travel time: 1 hour.

Lessons learned: In rush hour, the PNR is better... Travel is MUCH MUCH longer than a car, maybe double. Leave the house early :)

More of this exprience when I go solo sometime (which I may a few days from now).

Favorite Shots from "Holy Week in Pandi, Bulacan"

Here are my favorite shots for this event. Again, I personally think that this is "professional level". If you don't, however, just let me know why and how I can improve on it ;)

Nazareno

This image (poon) is quite iconic here in the Philippines. I'm specifically talking about the Black Nazarene. It's an image found in Quiapo Church. Devotion for the Black Nazarene is very strong here in the Philippines. Processions on January 9 (called Traslación) are known for the presence of millions of devotees (believing that the statue performs miracles), long procession times and so on. The longest procession so far was in the year 2012 when it lasted for 22 hours.. Yes, TWENTY-TWO HOURS!

Another picture of the Nazareno (which is obviously not black)

Pagbalot ng Kayong Lino

When I was still young I didn't see a difference between the Pieta and the Pagbalot ng Kayong Lino statues. My only differentiation is that this one has the cross while the other doesn't. Well, now I know more differences. The Pieta shows Mary carrying Jesus while this one doesn't. In plain translation, Pagbalot ng Kayong Lino means "Wrapping in Linen Cloth". I'm not sure if there's really wrapping of cloth here, or that the cloth in the cross is its representation. I wonder.

Skylines and Sunsets

One of my interests is photography. It's quite obvious with my first two posts ;) I don't own a DSLR but I do own a point-and-shoot, a Panasonic Lumix ZS19. It's not available here in the Philippines; mine was bought in the U.S. of A.

Here's some of my shots (that I personally think as "professional level") as an amateur photographer... Sunsests... Skylines... the moon! (soon)

The Ortigas Business District Skyline

This one is a long exposure shot.. By the way, I forgot to mention. I'm also in to light painting, which involves long exposure shots.. I'll post about it when I get the time to do more of it ;)

Sunset in Metro Manila

No filters used here. You can directly look at it the time I was taking this shot. The best sunset picture I have so far... I have other sunset pictures (taken in LSGH) but it doesn't show the sun as a circle.

And about the moon, I'll post it sometime :D

Holy Week in Pandi, Bulacan

Holy Week (Semana Santa in Filipino) is an annual event where Jesus's Passion and Death is commemorated. During the Holy Week, various activities are held, such as Senakulo (reenactment of Jesus's passion and death), Washing of the Feet, and many more. One of the usual sights on the roads (most especially in the province) during this week are processions.

Processions are a show of life-size figures and statues portraying the Passion and Death of Jesus. Usually, the statues would be the Apostles, the saints, the ladies (like Magdalene, Veronica, etc.) and most especially Jesus. In some provinces the number of carrozas (carriage- carries the statue) may reach a hundred or more, but in my province, we have sixteen. One of the 16 is my lola's.

In our province, there are two procession dates, one on Holy Wednesday and another on Good Friday. Holy Wednesday processions do not include crucifixion images. Good Friday processions include ALL statues. The parish is Immaculate Conception Church of Pandi (ICCP), by the way.

I will be posting the pictures by their order in the procession. Two pictures of a statue would mean that the first was taken on Wednesday and the second on Friday. And unless indicated otherwise, the statue appears on both procession days.

San Pedro (Simon Peter) Notice the garment change? Not all statues change garments, however. The carroza had a yellow garment during Holy Wednesday.

 

San Judas Tadeo (St. Jude Thaddeus)

 

 Huling Hapunan (Last Supper) The carroza had a black garment during Good Friday

Panalangin sa Halamanan (Agony In the Garden)

Panalangin sa Halamanan (Agony in the Garden) This version has no angel

 

Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) This is my lola's carroza; active since 1983.

 

Nazareno (Nazarene)

Pagpako sa Krus (Crucifixion) There were two soldiers last year. I don't know what happened to the other... This appears on Good Friday only.

Hesus Nakapako sa Krus (Jesus Crucified) This appears on Good Friday only.

Pieta. This appears on Good Friday only.

Pagbalot ng Kayong Lino (Wrapping in linen cloth) This appears on Good Friday only.

Santo Entierro. This appears on Good Friday only.

Veronica. This was taken on Holy Wednesday. The statue wore a black vestment (instead of white) on Good Friday.

Santa Maria Magdalena (Mary Magdalene) The carroza had a red garment during Holy Wednesday.

 

San Juan (St. John the Beloved)

Birhen Dolorosa (Sorrowful Mary)

I'll be uploading a video soon. It's the lineup of carrozas for both Holy Wednesday and Good Friday processions. Stay tuned! (although you may have to wait for quite some time)

You can see my favorite shots for this event here.

You can see more pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93327846@N07/sets/72157633125266391/

Planespotting Pictures in MNL- Philippine Airlines (and Airphil Express)

Philippine Airlines is the flag carrier of the Philippines. It used to be state-owned however it is now privately owned. Currently, 49% of it belongs to San Miguel Corporation, a known and a large conglomerate here in the Philippines. The move was for SMC's plans of modernizing the flag carrier, also the oldest airline in Asia.

PAL Express (former Airphil Express) is the low cost end of Philippine Airlines. Currently, the airline accounts for domestic flights of the parent company. PAL, then, accounts for international flights and select few domestic flights.

Philippine Airlines's fleet is composed of Airbus A319, A320, A330-300, A340-300, Boeing 777-300ER and 747-400 aircraft. PAL Express's fleet is composed of Airbus A319, A320, Bombardier Dash 8 -300 and Q400 aircraft, all from Philippine Airlines.

Airphil Express Airbus A320. This livery no longer exists here in the Philippines. Planes with this one currently wear the Sunriser livery of PAL.

This is my VERY LAST picture of an Airphil-painted jet. RP-C8396

I have no pics for Airphil-painted Bombardier's but I have videos..

PAL Express Bombardier Dash 8-300

Philippine Airlines Airbus A319 - RP-C8603. Remember that both PALEx and PAL aircraft are wearing the Sunriser livery, right? One way of differentiating a PAL and a PALEx plane is to check the underbelly. If it has a grey shade (like this one) then it's PAL's. If none then it's PALEx's. All of the Dash 8's are PALEx's.

RP-C8612, an Airbus A320

 Philippine Airlines Airbus A330-300 - RP-C3336

 Another A330. This time, it's RP-C3335

This time, an Airbus A340! RP-C3432

Underbelly view of RP-C7774, a Boeing 777-300ER. As of this date, it is the newest in PAL's fleet I believe. Q: Which is better, the A330 or 777? ;)

RP-C7475, one of five 747's in PAL's fleet.

IN THE FUTURE: PAL will have Airbus A321 and A330 (High Gross Weight version) aircraft. Their current A330 fleet will be passed on to PALEx once the orders are delievered. Moreover, they have plans on buying the 747-8 and the 787-8 (of which there are no firm orders yet)

That's all! And only now have I realized that I have all aircraft types of Philippine Airlines taken. #achievementunlocked

(This post is no longer included in the "Photography" section)