Your 45 Pesos Can Go a Long Way (Literally!)

I often go to the bookstore when I need to while away my time. It's the perfect meeting place, or in my case, the perfect place to be while waiting for my ride (ie: husband). ;-) Traffic can be unpredictable and oftentimes, I end up waiting longer than the expected pick-up time. Yesterday was one of those days. I was at Fully Booked browsing and there was one particular magazine that caught my eye. I had to do a double take because I couldn't believe the price. It was a magazine sold for only 45 pesos!

I'm talking about the Sidetrip Travel Magazine. This is different from all the other travel magazines in the market, not only for its price, but also because its articles focus mainly on travel within the Philippines. It's about time we have one of those, isn't it? The only downside is that this magazine is only published quarterly. So the one they have in stores now covers July to October 2009. It said that it's their 7th issue. So they must have been around for about a year and a half now. I really hope that we can support this magazine. It would just break my heart if this magazine is discontinued. In fact, Sidetrip Travel should be published monthly!

I haven't read the magazine cover-to-cover yet. But so far, my favorite articles include: Old Restos in the Metro (A review of 2 restaurants that have been favorites for half a century now!), Great Weekend Escapes (covers 4 weekend destinations for Manilenos including suggestions on where to go, what to do, where to stay, what to buy, where to eat, and what to order!), and a special on Laguna as a tourist destination (explains how Laguna can be enjoyed by all kinds of people and all interests). Add to this a number of restaurant reviews, travel tips, shopping finds (this quarter, they have an article talking about ukay-ukay), event calendars, "People, Arts, and Culture" articles, directories, and even bus schedules! It's a small magazine (just a little bigger than Reader's Digest in size) but it's packed with soooo much information! Jojo's ever "enlightening" comment to me when he read the magazine is this: "This magazine is perfect for going to the loo!" Hahaha! ;-) Oh, MEN...;-) But you know he's absolutely right. It's not only for its sheer size but there's so many interesting articles in there that can amuse you and entertain for however long it takes you to do your business! ;-)

We're now in the beginning stages of planning our weekend getaway -- taking in suggestions from their "Great Weekend Escapes" article. Grab a copy of this magazine and plan your trip as well! There are sooo many beautiful places here in the Philippines. It's too bad that we, as a country, are not given due credit and exposure internationally as a travel destination. Let's explore the country ourselves and spread the word...