DAY 1 SOUTH KOREA SPRING TRIP DAILY SHORT VLOG

DAY 1

First Reel! Thought of sharing Daily vlogs while I am here in South Korea for my Spring Trip!

Day1 is all about preparing for the next days ahead. Went also to a skin clinic which I will make a detailed reel of my experience on my next reel.:). shout out to @jeunexclinic! 

Hope you guys can follow me on this trip! Will be posting everyday  ( hopefully). Do send me as well your recos on what to do in South Korea during spring.

WHERE I STAYED:

NEAT HOUSE  HONGDAE

KLOOK CODE: 

KENNETHSURATKLOOK

THE LENOVO THINKSTATION P330. THE WORKSTATION FOR PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE WORKING FROM HOME.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t touched a desktop for years! The last time I used a desktop was during the time that I was still working in Dubai as a Senior Designer in a design firm.  Since I downscale (my professional life haha) and been traveling a lot for the past years and left the corporate world,  became a laptop type of guy. I was always on the move.

Nowadays though, that I have been staying in the country, like almost everyone of us, I have been working a lot with decoration projects and there are times that I need to create layout and presentations to clients and my “trusty” laptop at times is struggling to perform some tasks that I need to do. 

I know most of you will agree especially designers who are now working at home (WFH) and rely heavily on the power of their gadgets that sometimes you are wishing to have your ultra powerful and top grade office desktop with you.

Now that most of us are using our homes as temporary offices, one of the big tasks that we have do is to find the perfect computer for your presentations, spreadsheets, designs and yes, video conferencing.

As someone who isn’t a techie (but knows a thing or two when it comes to technology) I look for a device that is fast, powerful and with a big storage capacity. These are the main factors that I consider in choosing a gadget. As a designer myself, lags and slow device performance contribute to being unproductive for the day.

That is why, when Lenovo Philippines let me try their Thinkstation P330, I didn’t hesitate. I said yest right away. I was very curious to experience how desktops are powerful nowadays. With the age of virtual reality and instant 3d renderings desktops truly improved a lot.

#LiveMoreShareMore: Behind The Scenes of Filming a Global Campaign

I think most of you have seen a recent campaign I made for Western Union. It was indeed an amazing opportunity to showcase my passion in a global platform.



In this blog, I want to share with you my experience in working for this campaign ( which I can definitely say, one of the highlights of my 2018).

Now, let's backtrack a few months before its release.

[caption id="attachment_6039" align="alignnone" width="800"] Filming some clips in Marikina[/caption]

Back in June, after months of negotiations, I finally welcomed an international filming crew to Marikina, my hometown in the Philippines, to make two episodes about my life and journey for an award-winning project called #LiveMoreShareMore.

In a sea of influencers, from all over the world, it is still hard to believe that I was one of the few selected content creators to be featured in the series, showcasing inspiring people.

#LiveMoreShareMore was developed by RDB | Robin des Bois, an international Media agency focusing on Influencer Millennial Marketing and Branding Campaigns in Vienna, London and Manila, and the project is powered by Western Union - the global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement in over 200 countries.

After watching previous episodes of the web series featuring influencers such as Nuseir Yassin, creator of the one-minute daily videos channel @nasdaily; Mihaela Noroc, author of the project “The Atlas of Beauty”; Youtuber Maria (@LaCooquette); Filipino yo-yo champion Sean Perez and also videos featuring Mario Rigby, a modern explorer who spent two and half years crossing Africa by foot and kayak, it was my turn to represent my country, not only as a content creator, but also as an artisan, sharing with others how much love goes into each journal I made via my very own Surat Journals project.

[caption id="attachment_6041" align="alignnone" width="800"] With Marcio Delgado and Rainer Frick (briefing for our audio recording sesh)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6040" align="alignnone" width="800"] Marcio dicussing some questions that I needed to answer for the shoot[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6038" align="alignnone" width="800"] Shooting some dramatic shots with Rainer. You can definitely spot this in the final video[/caption]

The team of professionals spending three days with me in Manila and Marikina included German film director Rainer Frick, filming assistant Jan Pilny, Marc David Acob and the London-based Journalist and producer Marcio Delgado, a Global Content Manager and social Influencer Headhunter for RDB and whom signed me for the campaign.

Besides being part of a Global project like that for a brand that has been around for over a century, it is always fascinating to see how it is made by a crew that spends approximately 100 days on the road, each year – this is more time travelling than some of the travel bloggers that I’ve met in Asia or Europe during my own trips.

[caption id="attachment_6043" align="alignnone" width="800"] Been using Western Union ever since I started working abroad. Definitely one of the best options to send money anywhere in the world.[/caption]

“It takes a lot of work to film each episode, several hours per day, and few people realize that. We also have to deal with other challenges while filming abroad, from earthquakes in Mexico to lost luggage in the USA or heat of up to 46C in India, for example. But the end results make it worthwhile.” – says the series producer Marcio Delgado.

It gives you a sense of accomplishment when you hear the words ‘It’s a wrap’ after filming many different sequences that you even don’t know if it will make to the final video. And the best part is when you watch the episode live, again, months later.

All episodes are published across Western Union’s social channels, including Facebook and teasers on Instagram, and they are also made available to watch in a dedicated blog about the Live More project.

In case you haven’t seen my two episodes already, I invite you to have a look at: https://www.westernunion.com/blog/sharemore/#kenneth or by pressing play below

Live Adventure @KennethSurat | #LiveMoreShareMore #WUSharesKenneth

#Ad He designs his own future. Join us as we team up with Kenneth Surat on his journey to inspire positivity and share stories #RightNow

Who do you strive to inspire? #LiveMoreShareMore #WUSharesKenneth #CustomerStories

To find out more about Kenneth check out: http://on.wu.com/Kenneth

Posted by Western Union on Monday, November 5, 2018

Choose Passion @KennethSurat | #LiveMoreShareMore #WUSharesKenneth

#Ad He thinks global but his ❤️ remains local. Join us as we team up with Kenneth Surat to follow him on his entrepreneurial journey #RightNow

What do you aspire to be? #LiveMoreShareMore #WUSharesKenneth #CustomerStories

To find out more about Kenneth check out: http://on.wu.com/Kenneth

Posted by Western Union on Monday, November 12, 2018

 

Episodes of the current second season are published weekly on www.facebook.com/westernunion

Follow Marcio Delgado for some behind-the-scenes updates on Instagram: @marcio_delgado

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkJu1QnjrY4/

 



 

 

 

Baragatan Festival sa Palawan: Celebration in the World's Best Island

My second official festival in the Philippines came as a surprise. I was invited just a few days before the official festival will start (1 day to be exact), good thing, the LGU (Local Government Unit) who invited us decided to split the blogger groups into 2. One group will cover the first half while the rest will cover the later events until the finale (closing).

WE ARE GOING TO THE BARAGATAN FESTIVAL IN PUERTO PRINCESA PALAWAN! YEY

The main festival in the most beautiful island in the world!? How will I say no?

Baragatan Festival is a 2-week long festival leading to the celebration of the anniversary of  Palawan's civil government foundation. During this time, all municipalities of Palawan gather together in Puerto Princesa, the provincial capital. Appropriately, Baragatan is a Cuyunon word that means, gather, or meet.

[caption id="attachment_5283" align="alignnone" width="800"] Festive street dance from the Municipality of Quezon[/caption]

We had our flight early in the morning. YEY. I love first flight out, cause I will not catch the crazy Manila traffic. Instead of roughly 2 hours travel from Marikina to NAIA 4, I will only get it at 30 min (of course, I have to deprive myself of sleep, a small sacrifice than stressing out with the rush hour jam). I met bloggers (@ChristianAligo and @Aci_girl) whom I will be traveling with for this trip at the check in counter. Funny how we get to meet each other for the first time in the airport then became good friends after the trip; story of my life.

[caption id="attachment_5271" align="alignnone" width="800"] My official Baragatan Festival Blogger pass[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_5280" align="alignnone" width="800"] Traveling with these peeps. @capturingfootprints @aci_girl[/caption]

Our flight was perfectly on time. We arrived at the new Puerto Princesa airport around 10 am and waited for our pick up. Don’t judge us, but we were expecting some garlands as a welcome gesture from the local government, but we didn’t get any hahaha (served us right for expecting haha).

The last time I was in Palawan was during a trip I did in El Nido. Read about it here

First things first, after dropping our bags, we immediately went to the Capitol to meet with the LGU officer who invited us for the trip. Also to know what are the things we need to cover for the festival and also what to expect!

SO EXCITING!

They handed us a print out of the Barangatan Festival sa Palawan events. It was overwhelming. Everyday, there were loads of activities happening around town. For this blog, I will mention the activities that I enjoyed the most and the ones I will be suggesting for you to watch/visit on the next Baragatan sa Palawan Festival (in the hopes that you will also join next year).

LUTONG ATENANEN

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVjtUCNgwi8/?taken-by=kennethsurat

At first, we were clueless on what to expect here. We were walking inside the Legislative Building looking for something colorful/festive just to know that we are in the correct location. We didn’t see any, there were only 2 long tables with packed food. Hmmmmm. To be honest, it was a little underwhelming for our first event feature. Then suddenly, they started serving us the food. OH MY!

[caption id="attachment_5272" align="alignnone" width="800"] Cuyunon food packs. Looks very simple but packed with YUM power[/caption]

The food spread highlighted the rich Cuyunon dishes in the province.

They served us “danggit” ( crispy dried fish) with okra salad, fresh seaweeds called locally as “lato” and the highlight, a dish called “lauya”. This was the first time I tasted this. It is a mix of red beans, jackfruit, beef/pork and lemon grass. They said that you can find “lauya” being served in almost every special occasion in Palawan. All I can say is YUM!

KARAENAN SA BARAGATAN 

[caption id="attachment_5288" align="alignnone" width="800"] One of the stalls at the Karaenan area at the Puerto Princesa capitol[/caption]

A foodcourt-style area located inside the provincial capitol. They are open for lunch and dinner; serving patrons of the Baragatan Festival. During our stay in Puerto Princesa, these food stalls became our go-to place for almost every meal (lunch and dinner). I think we have tried every stall here hahaha.

These stalls serve a variety of local dishes; from a simple adobo to a very savory grilled chicken barbecue.

[caption id="attachment_5277" align="alignnone" width="800"] Lot's of grilled food..BBQ madness![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_5276" align="alignnone" width="800"] Lechon anyone?[/caption]

BARAKALAN SA BARAGATAN TRADE & EXPO

I am an advocate of anything local products. As an artisan myself (@suratjournals) I appreciate the craftsmanship being poured out in every product. The Barakalan sa Baragatan Trade & Expo displays a lot of these local goodies. These products came from different municipalities around Palawan. From food to handicrafts.

[caption id="attachment_5287" align="alignnone" width="800"] Handicraft stalls lined up for the Barakalan sa Baragatan Trade & Expo[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_5273" align="alignnone" width="800"] Happily waiting for customers[/caption]

This is the best place to buy gifts for your loved ones (pasalubongs) or even for yourself.

TUNOG PALAWAN AND KARAOKE CHALLENGE

Of course, being Filipinos, a festival will never be complete without a singing competition. The Baragatan Festival, showcased local talents through these events. First was the Tunog Palawan where each contestant showed their talents in singing as well as song writing.

[caption id="attachment_5279" align="alignnone" width="800"] A group performance for the Tunog Palawen competition.[/caption]

Next talent program was the Karaoke Challenge. I was very surprised and amazed at the same time that there was a VIDEOKE competition ( on stage). It was entertaining though.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVlYr9SgzVl/?taken-by=kennethsurat

MUTYA NG PALAWAN

One of the highlights of the Baragatan Festival was the Mutya ng Palawan. It ran for almost the whole duration of the festival. From the parade, national costume, talent portion and the coronation night. We were fortunate to watch both the talent portion and the coronation night.

[caption id="attachment_5282" align="alignnone" width="800"] The queens at the recent Mutya ng Palawan where the candidate from Brooke's point won the coveted title[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_5281" align="alignnone" width="800"] Mutya ng Palawan hosts, Gabby Concepcion and Venus Raj (Bonnga!!)[/caption]

Filipinos are suckers for beauty pageants; and it was very evident how the whole Cory Park was full packed with people (carrying big banners).

It was a night full of beauty and glam where each district sent their representative to get the most coveted crown as Mutya ng Palawan 2017. In the end, the delegate from Brooke's Point bested everyone and became the queen of the night.

SARAOTAN SA DALAN (STREET DANCE COMPETION)

For some people, their highlight was the Mutya ng Palawan, for me, it’s the “Saraotan sa Dalan” (street dance competition). I got high expectations with festive street dance ever since I watched the performances last Manggahan Festival.

[caption id="attachment_5284" align="alignnone" width="800"] Game face on. These teens endured the scorching heat to us such an awesome performance.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_5285" align="alignnone" width="800"] Happy faces!![/caption]

There were 3 districts that participated. Quezon, San Vincente and Narra. To be honest, any of these groups can actually be the winner. The colors, the beat and their game faces were on point.

My expectation was met (with flying colors)! It was the best! I am still amazed how these kids danced as if their lives depend on it. JAW DROPPED!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVxJDkrg1m6/?taken-by=kennethsurat

Watch the street dance highlights here

For my second Philippine Festival, Baragatan didn’t disappoint. It showed that it really is MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES.

Although we weren’t able to go to the beach on this visit, I can say that it was all worth it. Being known as the best island in the world, Palawan definitely proved that it has more to offer than its pristine and beautiful beaches.

 



 

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This post is in collaboration with the local tourism government unit of Palawan during the Baragatan sa  Palawan Festival 2017. 

BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAYS!! (updated: Winner Announcement)

A few days ago I started posting birthday giveaways here in the blog. It is a simple way of thanking everyone of you who have been there supporting me all these years.

I am really happy to have these brands to help me out with the giveaways. Cabin Zero, Deuter and Surat Journals, you guys are the best!

I know the giveaway posts are all over the blog now and sometimes it is hard to track down which giveaway to join and how to join them. So I making this blog as a summary:

GIVEAWAY 1

WIN A CABIN ZERO CLASSIC 44L CAMOUFLAGE BAG

open for everyone

click the image below to direct you to the giveaway page

WINNER: MENGFEI XU - Germany

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GIVEAWAY 2

DEUTER ROADWAY BAG

only those who have shipping address from the Philippines or the UAE

click the image below to direct you to the giveaway page

Winner: CHRISTOEFFER JOHN ESTRADA - Philippines

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GIVEAWAY 3

CARD + CARD SLEEVES BY SURAT JOURNALS

only those who have shipping address from the Philippines or the UAE

click the image below to direct you to the giveaway page

Winner: JOYCE TORRES - Philippines

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Once again, thank you very much! Good luck!

 

Trip of Wonders: Wonderful Indonesia 2016 in a Nutshell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbfJrT5R36s

 

What will do you if one day, you will receive an invitation to explore a country that you haven’t been to?

[caption id="attachment_4228" align="alignnone" width="800"] Sunrise in Gili Trawangan, GIli Islands., Lombok[/caption]

This happened to me last June (2016). I was invited by Pinneng Muljadi & Gemala Hanafiah-the author of www.WetTraveler.com in behalf of the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia. I got so excited after I read what the email was all about.

The email stated that I’ll get a chance to travel around Indonesia along with other international bloggers from the 6^th till the 19^th of August. Hooot hoot. When I left Dubai and after my previous backpacking trip around Europe and Australia, I told myself that it is about time to explore Southeast Asia. Although my home country (the Philippines) is part of this region, I haven't really explored it that much in comparison to Europe and North America (so I was really excited!).

After passing all requirements and I was about to announce in all of my social media platforms about this upcoming collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia, I got an email that after I sent my travel documents, they realized that I am holding a Philippine passport. Unfortunately, the invitation (or let me say this specific trip --- I’ll get into this later), was only for Middle Eastern, American and European bloggers, and because of that, it is unfortunate that I will not be able to join the trip. I was a little bit (well more than a bit) sad. I was ready to explore this beautiful land and also I was looking forward to meet bloggers from different countries. The confusion came upon because I am originally an ‘Influential’ based in Dubai (the Middle East)…. still feels weird whenever I call myself as an ‘Infulential’ haha.

Right before I’ll get fully disappointed, the representative from the Ministry of tourism told me that they have a different trip being planned for South East Asian Bloggers. YEY! Let me check again, I am from the Philippines, my passport is from the Philippines and I am currently in the Philippines! YES! I am very much qualified this time.-----------fast forward: after a few weeks, I just came back from this amazing trip!

I can’t be more thankful that I got moved to this batch of bloggers who will visit Indonesia. This easily became one of the best trips that I have ever been (and as you know, if you’ve been following me, I have been to a lot of places). Aside from exploring the wonderful Indonesia, I was able to meet amazing and humble South East Asian Influencers who I considered now as my friends.

For 11 days along with 39 influencers from Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, we explored the cities of Makassar, Lombok, Banyuwangi and Bandung.

[caption id="attachment_4223" align="alignnone" width="960"] #TripOfWonders Group photo in Makassar (Photo cred: Indonesia.travel)[/caption]

The next few blogs will be a series of stories and retelling of what went down during this wonderful trip. To watch our trip in a Nutshell, check out the video above by clicking in play.

Competition Alert:

Want to win a trip to Bali? Check out this link

Follow our Journey:

#Tripofwonders

@kennethsurat

Indonesia.travel

 

 

 

 

 

Foodie Vlog: Margherita Pizzeria Dubai Launching

Last Monday (5th October 2015) I was invited to the grand launching of the new franchise of Margherita Pizzeria here in Dubai.

Their first restaurant in Dubai is located in JBR while this one is along Sheikh Zayed (near the DIFC Metro Station --yey).

[blockquote source="Margherita Pizzeria"]Margherita offers traditional Neopolitan cuisine amidst a cozy neighborhood pizzeria setting. Its pioneering branch was established in 2008 at the heart of Beirut, Lebanon. Since opening its doors the restaurant has carved a distinctive reputation for its quality taste and top-notch service, rapidly expanding as a popular Italian franchise across the region. It currently holds several branches throughout Lebanon in Gemmayzeh, Sin El Fil, Jounieh, Achrafieh, and Saifi. Margherita has also crossed borders to bring its classic menu to the people of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Nigeria, and the UAE. Committed to maintaining superior culinary standards and impeccable service, Margherita remains steadfast in its mission to provide food aficionados across the world with authentic Italian fare.[/blockquote]

The event started with a ribbon cutting led by His Excellency Mr. Giovanni Favilli – Italian Consul General in Dubai. Once the ribbon was cut, I got very excited because it means we can start eating (hahaha).

[caption id="attachment_3481" align="aligncenter" width="800"] A full table full of FOOOOOOOOOOOOD[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3462" align="aligncenter" width="800"] I can see some burrata![/caption]

There was a big long table full of tasty and simple (very true Italian) food.To be honest, I am not familiar of the names of most of the food. Thank God that we were doing a Vlog to know more about the name of the food we had. (Hit play on the youtube video below).

My favorite was the burrata. Since I arrived, my eyes were just fixed on that.  Their signature pizza (of course one of it is a Margherita  transported me back in Italy. All their pizzas are brick-baked and they are claiming that all ingredients are imported from Italy which is why they tasted very authentic.

[caption id="attachment_3472" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Luvin this (yheap I dont know what it is called).[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3470" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Parmigiana ( Didnt taste it cause I dont eat eggplant, but one guest told me it was amazing!)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3474" align="aligncenter" width="800"] PIZZAAAh![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3464" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The work station. Getting those pizzas out![/caption]

It was a great night full of exquisite Italian cuisine. I was so happy seeing my favorite comfort food ---Burrata!--and it didn't dissapoint!

The restaurant has an outdoor seating, and with the weather getting cooler and cooler now, it can be a good place for a weekend lunch out or dinner with family and friends.

If you are following me in Facebook or Instagram you might already know that I started a youtube channel and been planning to start vlogging. So when I received the invitation for this event, me and my friend Charles (the man behind the video cam) thought that we could use this opportunity to test out our vlogging skills.

[caption id="attachment_3476" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Charles busy shooting my awkward face![/caption]

Check out our full vlog on this event below.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FENmL4Rx8ok[/embed]

Of course we still have a lot to improve, and I feel really awkward in front of the camera (which made me question if this is a good idea haha).

We are excited with this project and we have a lot of plans for future video series which we can't wait to share with you.

Any vlogging tips and suggestions? Send me a message in the comments box below!

 Check out Margharita Pizzeria, Sheikh Zayed, Dubai

Location: Building, Block D, Near Axiom Care, Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre Area, Dubai

Phone: 04 3517173

Email: info@pizzeriamargherita.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MargheritaUAE/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/margheritadubai