Three Winners of the Island Travel Promotional Video and Contest

Today we have three lucky winners of our raffle draw of the Island Travel Promotional Video and Contest that ended yesterday. The contest simply requires one to share the island travel promotional video below to friends in Facebook, own blog or Twitter and then to follow us at Island Travel.



The winners will receive a pack each of MDPlus Golden Shield with SPF50, your skin's best defense against sun damage this summer, to be delivered right at their doorsteps.


Submissions were individually verified and qualified entries were assigned numbers chronologically, i.e. according to the order of submission. Using a random numbers generator, the three lucky numbers are 18, 1, 16. These numbers correspond to the entries of:

18- zoan - the blogger behind the blog "luckyzoan", a self-confessed internet addict and a mom who loves freebies and contests.

1- fabgirl - the first to share the video to her friends and an avid fan of Island Travel and our other blogs like Mama Sez at Hubpages, Parenting Journey and Daily Happiness Tips.

16- Madel Martin - is one of two Island Travel followers who shared the video in three ways, i.e. via Facebook, Multiply and Twitter, a strategy that paid off handsomely for her.

Congratulations to our three lucky winners! They still have about a month to go to enjoy the rest of the summer with their MDPlus Golden Shield prize for sun protection.

They will be contacted directly so we can get the addresses to send each of their prizes.

Cheers!

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Island Travel Contests and Promos Announcement

Based on recent assessments of our current situation as a result of the incident in Quezon, we really cannot realistically proceed further north as planned and would likely spend much of the remaining vacation time in Laguna and perhaps in the Greater Metro Manila area. We think that the message of this unforeseen twist is “stay put and balance family commitments, travel and writing” in and around an area we’re already familiar with.

Therefore, we made the following decisions related to the contests and promos of our travel blog:

1. Island Travel Promotional Video and Contest – We will proceed with this contest as originally announced. We have a good number of participants and we encourage further entries until the end of April. Three lucky entries based on a raffle draw will be proclaimed on May 1. Each would win MDPlus Golden Shield with SPF50. Click on the photo below to go to the youtube promotional video and share to friends via Facebook or to your blog readers via a post with the video embedded, notify us in the comment section and we shall confirm your entry (or entries) to this contest as soon as possible. By the way, you have to follow us via Google Connect, Facebook (NetworkedBlogs) or Twitter to be eligible to join.
   
   
   
2. Island Travel Guess Where We Are Contest – We have posted two challenges, namely:
   
   
   GUESS CHALLENGE #1
   
   
   
   GUESS CHALLENGE #2
   
   
   
   (please click on photo to see specific blog posting/challenge and the corresponding guesses/entries submitted)
   
   While there are guesses that can be considered correct already, there’s still room for improvement…i.e. better, more accurate guesses. So we’re giving another week for more guesses from you, i.e. until April 26. Remember that you can have multiple entries as long as they are posted in separate days. Winners will be announced on April 27. Be sure you are an Island Travel follower in Networked Blogs, Facebook or Google Connect (or an email or RSS subscriber), which is the minimum requirement to join; then check our official announcement and direct communication to you.
   
   Because you already know that we are in and around Laguna and Greater Metro Manila area in the past as well as in the next few weeks, we will hold off any further Guess Where We Are Challenges until further notice.
   
   
3. Island Travel Blog It Contest and Island Travel Blog That Photo Contest – Because of the changes in our travel plans and the minimal participation so far, we are suspending these two contests until further notice. We hope to relaunch them in the near future. Those who already participated will be notified that their entries will be considered valid entries when specific contest is relaunched.
   

We are hoping for your understanding about these changes. As much as we want to honor our commitment as originally announced, we need to be realistic and step back a bit so we can go forward again in the future.

We appreciate your concern and understanding of our current situation.

We remain,

Papa Sez and Mama Sez

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Update on Unwelcomed Turn of Events

It’s already two weeks since the unwanted incident happened and yet there’s not much progress since then, particularly pertaining to the repair of our vehicle so that we can recommence our island travels.

It might be another test of our patience, and we can easily fail at times, but we’re still holding on trying to view the incident in the best possible light. But 'frustrating' is a mild word to describe our interactions with some of those involved in the vehicular accident.

When trust is breached, it’s difficult to stay kindhearted and generous. It’s clear that certain parties wanted to exploit the situation for monetary gains, and what should’ve been the primary concern of all parties is taking a backseat. Goodwill flew out of the window when duplicitous persons took hostage of the situation.

Anyway, we obviously cannot hold off decisions forever, so we’ll try to make the most of our current situation and move on with our lives.

We’ll gradually resume our blogs and write the articles that we’ve been putting on-hold as we’re really unable to sit down to write when we’re on the road. Who knows, some great articles might come out while we’re grounded here in Laguna.

Decisions and updates about Island Travel contests and promos will also be made known soon.

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An Unwelcomed Turn of Events

Sariaya, Quezon, April 1, Holy Thursday, 4:03pm- On the 12th day of our 60-day Island Travel adventure, we experienced an incident that would definitely change many of our plans for summer...a vehicular accident.

The day was spent going around the towns of Laguna and Quezon provinces for the traditional Visita Iglesias or church visits.  We were on our way back to San Pablo City from Lucban, Quezon when the incident happened.

Details cannot be divulged at the moment. But suffice to say for now that except for the car, the whole family escaped unscathed. We are basically grounded in the next few days and the travel plans to Batangas and to Central and Northern Luzon are put on hold.

We shall soon make announcements about our plans as well as decisions about our commitments related to this Island Travel blog and its contests and promos.

We apologize for the infrequent updates in the next days, but we hope that it'll just be a temporary setback.

We'll keep you posted.

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And We're Off to a Good Start

March 21, 6:21 AM- We took our first meter of the thousands of kilometers we'd travel to see the whole Philippines in our 60-day road trip.

The kids were told to wake up at 4:00 AM but they set their alarm earlier than this.  This morning, they excitedly woke us up way ahead of our own schedule. Our Uncle also came earlier than expected. Feels like it's only a dream that the wait is finally over.

Our breakfast was the second lechon manok we cannot finish last night during Lolo's birthday dinner and despidida for everyone. Then we started loading, made adjustments to our packed stuff to accommodate most, gave final instructions to those who'd be left behind, and we're off.

The sun was out but hidden by some clouds. Twenty minutes into the travel, it drizzled and when we got to Panabo City, it was raining. Good sign, I said, we'll be bringing an end to El Nino to the places we'll go...so let the law of attraction work for us, those we meet and the places we'll visit! It's a good sign indeed...everything will work out...much better than planned.

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Some Updates and Contest Reminders

I checked on the countdown widget to the right and it's about right, give-take few hours. We're on the edge of our sanity as we cram the last few things in our to-do lists and bite the bullet so to speak as we made another adjustment to our date of departure.

March 21 it is! We might miss our relatives from Nevada if we do not give an extra travel day, an allowance for delays, etc. They're leaving on the 27th and in our last schedule, we're arriving Laguna on the evening of 26th. It's just too close for comfort. Our visiting Tita and Tito have requested pomelo, mangosteen and lanzones from Davao (and even an herbal tea!).  They can't find lanzones in Laguna around this time! and it's the Tita's fave fruit.  We can't have her leave without a taste of our luscious lanzones, right?

A Reminder on Contest Requirement.  All of the ongoing four contests require that you follow/friend us in any of the following: Facebook Networked Blogs, Google Friend Connect or Twitter.  It's as simple as clicking on the "follow" button of the appropriate social networking option at the bottom of this page.

Guess Where We Are Challenge.  Postings for this contest will start to appear anytime between March 21 and May 20.  So watch out daily for the blog post title along this line "Guess Where We Are # __".  The prize for each challenge (=post) will vary between $2 to $5 depending on the degree of difficulty of the challenge. One can have as many guesses as one wants as long as they are posted in the comment section of that particular challenge in different dates (based on Philippine Standard Time). Remember that the comments will be moderated to screen out those that do not fulfill the requirements, particularly that pertaining to following us (see paragraph above).

Blog It Contest is open until May 15.  So you can still blog about these contests and get a chance to win $5 in a raffle or $5 based on quality and referring power of your post. Check the Kick Off Promo mechanics for details.

Blog That Photo Contest.  Use any of the photos posted in this site until May 31 and blog about it.  Get a chance to win $15, $10 or $5 for the top three blog posts, respectively.  See Kick Off Promo mechanics for details.

Share the Promo Video and Win Golden Shield with SPF50. You may grab the video from youtube, Facebook or in this promo post, then share it to your friends or readers via Facebook, a blog or twitter. Details can be found in Island Travel Promotional Video and Contest.  This video share and win promo runs until April 30.

If you need to reach us, send message to islandtravelphilippines[at]gmail.com.  We'll get back to you as soon as our situation in the field allows us to access the internet. Cheers!

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BLOG THAT PHOTO contest

"BLOG THAT PHOTO" is one of the three contests announced in the Island Travel Kick Off Promo post and it is open to all bloggers.

We are making this separate post so that blog entries (URL) can be posted under the comments section and get maximum exposure for the later second phase that involves voting by our readers/followers to win the top three spots. Read the guidelines below as previously posted, with modification on the photos that can be blogged about.

"We expect to be posting many photos of the places we'll visit and faces we'll encounter during our Island Travel adventure. We don't want them to go to waste, but instead we want to show them to as many people as possible.

Since "a picture paints a thousand words", we want you to take those words from the photos and write it as a post in your blog site. You may choose any of the photos posted on this travel blog until May 31. There's no limit to the number of entries (=posts) you can submit. The last blog post entry should be done on or before May 31.

The only requirements are: a) put the "BLOG THAT PHOTO" contest button prominently on your blog post; b) attribute the photo(s) you used to the specific page(s) you found the photo(s) in this blog site; and, c) email islandtravelphilippines[at]gmail.com each time you post so that we can check it out.

What are at stake? The best "blog that photo" post will be awarded $15. The second and third placers will receive $10 and $5, respectively.

How do we determine the winners? This is a two-stage contest.

i.) After May 31, we will choose the top ten "blog that photo" posts based on quality. Did the blog post do justice to the photo selected? Is it free from careless errors in writing? Is it appealing to the general public? There is no minimum or maximum length of posts as these depend on the subject (photo) and the style of the blogger. We will leave that up to individual blogger's judgment.

ii.) After the top ten are identified, these will be voted upon by readers and followers of Island Travel."

Now, after blogging about any photo in this travel blog, you may call everybody's attention to it by posted a comment with the URL of your entry.

Enjoy the photos and enjoy blogging!

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Time to Prepare Got Even Shorter

As mentioned in my first post for this hectic month of March, Mama Sez and I are feeling the pressure already. As if that was not enough, now we're even cutting our preparation time shorter by another day! We have done the first adjustment when we decided to go for the road trip instead of utilizing our booked ticket and placing the car on a ferry to Manila.

This decision to move the kick off date earlier by one day is due to the following:

1. The kids' last day of classes is on March 19, so we're free to go any day after.  This is, of course, if both of them have no backlogs in their school work. This has been a sticky issue in recent days.  We gave many reminders to reduce the chances of major hitches in our plans.
2. My investigation in the past days about Sohoton Cove in Surigao del Norte yielded many information.  We made the decision to invest some funds and another day in Surigao City to enjoy this unique natural attraction.  

So there you go, now you won't be surprised that we're leaving March 22 instead of 23.  I am going to change the departure date in the countdown box to the right after I hit the publish button for this post.

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A Shoutbox Feature is Added

We got feedback that it was difficult for some visitors/readers to leave a comment in this travel blog. This was a consequence of requiring commenters to log in some form of identification (email or other IDs, including OpenID) prior to posting their comments. These we had to do because of the need to acquire email address (for verification purposes) for those joining the "Guess Where We Are Contest" that would start when we begin our road trip.

We are relaxing that a bit. The comment section is now open to anybody (including anonymous commenters), but we will moderate the comment section of the Guess Where We Are Contest posts only, so that we can verify that those joining the contest are followers via Twitter, Google Friend Connect or Facebook, or an email subscriber (which is a requirement to join as announced here).

To encourage even more feedback, a new channel is opened-- a shoutbox is placed at the bottom right corner near the "subscribe" section.

You can use it as you may, hopefully to let us know what you think is good as well as those that needs to be improved about this site or about our travel. We value your feedback so let us know what you think.

The other communication channels-- the now less restrictive comment section of each blog and email islandtravelphilippines[at]gmail.com - would, of course, continue to be available for you.

Thanks in advance for participating.

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