Charming city of Prague

OMG! I’m so guilty of neglecting this blog for the longest time, it’s almost a crime!

Oh well, will really try to make amends *keeping my fingers cross*. Let me start making amends by blogging about our recent trip to one of the places I’ve been dying to visit for the longest time….. the charming city of Prague.

This trip was booked on impulse. I have a colleague who receives these notifications on all sorts of things they offer on discount prices and he told me he just booked a trip to Prague and its cheaper. Since we were supposed to go to Prague last year but it didn’t push through, I’ve been eyeing a chance to reschedule the trip and what better opportunity than a discounted trip. So after a quick call to honey, I asked my colleague to book us as well and we’ll all go together. However, after coming down from the exhilaration of booking a trip that we’ve been wanting to make, I’ve decided to look around and book on my own and realized that I could have booked it at the same price at better accommodations. Darn, that’s one mistake I’ll never commit again.

Prague and I started on the wrong foot. We arrived in Prague at around 9:45pm and we were at the hotel at around 10:30pm. The biggest mistake we have committed is not having dinner before the flight thinking that we can grab dinner when we arrive. Such a sorry mistake, although there were restaurants near by the hotel, they close at 10pm. We were starving! Bee started getting grumpy because it was a bit warm inside the room. It's not like its a dodgy hotel or something, its actually a part of a chain of hotels. Honey and I were so tempted to pack our bags and search for a better hotel but it was late, good thing soon enough it started to cool off. Honey was so hungry that he tried to scout for anything he can buy to eat outside but his efforts were futile, he returned empty handed. Bee was the only one who had dinner, good thing I brought some baby food for her for just in case situations. Combine hunger with discomfort, we were fuming, but now that I can look back it was so funny coz honey started to eat Bee’s cookies LOL!

Prague completely redeemed herself to us the following day. We went to the town square and it was just breathtaking. The city has so much to offer. Beautiful architecture, charming cobbled streets, historical castles and such a rich culture. We walked for 6 hours straight and at the end of our 1st day of exploring the city, our feet couldn’t stand another second but our eyes have never gazed on something so wonderful and our spirits were soaring.

Bohol Sea Adventure

Our third day was spent basking in the glorious sun, sand and beach of Bohol. We were fetched by our bangkero, kuya George at around 5:30 to start our sea tour bright and early. As part of our itinerary, we were scheduled to watch dolphins at play, snorkel (well honey snorkelled, while I fed the fishes from the small boat) at fish sanctuary and island hop to Balicasag and Virgin (Pontod) Island.



I was surprised that as early as six in the morning when we reached the spot where the dolphins were supposed to show up, there were a lot of other boats, passengers of which were also tourists like us hoping to get a glimpse of the marvellous sea creature. We saw a couple of them dolphins jumping about but each time that we would go closer to the last spot where the dolphins were seen, all the rest of the boats followed suit and the dolphins just swam and went to a completely new spot. After an hour or so of aimlessly going about the wide area, although we did saw some flips and flaps from the ever elusive dolphins, I begun to feel tired of running after them and told Kuya George that we might as well go the next stop. Little did I know that where we were going next would be a much better location for us to spot the flirtatious swimming of these intelligent creatures. I couldn’t help but wonder why kuya George would want to spend all those time running after the elusive dolphins in the first spot. He explained to us that in the first spot that went to, the dolphins were much bigger and they are more playful. Oh, well, I was more than happy to just get closer to the dolphins, the flips and flaps of the bigger ones were a mere bonus.



Next, off we went to the fish sanctuary where honey snorkelled the entire day. I opted to join him and went into the small boat that we rented and thinking that I won’t be going in the water so I can take the camera with me. We took the bangkero’s advice and bought some crackers with us to the snorkelling site. At first, I thought I’d be bored to death while waiting for honey to finish exploring the fish sanctuary. However, while honey was busy floating and dipping and flapping away through the beautiful corals, I took some crackers and dipped my hand in the water. I was amazed by the number of fishes that came to my hand, the crystal clear water made it so easy to see all the fishes and I sure am glad I brought the camera, I took pictures of the fishes as they feasted on the crackers I gave them. I didn’t even have to ask if honey had a grand time, his smile said it all. We were nicely brown and toasted from the burning sun when we went back to the bank where a hearty lunch was waiting for us.






(virgin Island)

After lunch, honey did some more dipping and flapping in the beach but I managed to pull him off from the shore and we went to our last stop for the day, the Virgin Island. This is a half circle stretch of white sand beach that people can see during low tide but is completely out of sight during high tide. This was where we found the henna tattoo guys. Since I’m not allowed to swim and honey also wanted to get henna so badly, we spent half an hour or so waiting for the guy to finish the tattoos. I must say, I loved how my tattoo turned out, it’s so intricate and pretty.



When we finally returned to our hotel, I can’t believe how tired I was, I guess the heat of the sun really took a toll on me. However I must say that I haven’t seen a beach more pristine or sand finer than the ones I have seen in Bohol. It’s breath taking.

Countryside Tour Bohol Part 2 of 2

The incessant coughing and sneezing coupled with the flu and fever that bugged honey and me down for the past couple of days made our wonderful trip to Bohol seems so distant now. That is why I must follow up on my previous post to relax my mind and remind myself of the recent good times that honey and I had in that wonderful island.

The Loboc River lunch and cruise left me yearning for a bed to nap (oh well, in my present condition, my body seems to always long for a bed to doze off) however, that sleepiness lasted only for a couple of minutes for the moment we saw the countryside leading to the place where we would soon be visiting the tarsier, our eyes couldn’t help but feast on the wonderful scenery. We reached the tarsier sanctuary in no time and I almost leaped out of the van as I was so enthused to finally see the infamous tarsier of Bohol. The moment I saw them cute little primates, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh wow… they are so freakin’ cute!” Indeed they were so cute, I wanted to reach out for one of them and start pinching them. Oh, of course I didn’t! I contented myself with feeding them crickets (crickets on stick - which at first gave me goose bumps) and taking their pictures.





I was bummed to leave them cute tarsiers but we had to carry on with our tour. Next stop was the other infamous gem of Bohol… the Chocolate Hills. On our way to the hills, K regaled us with the cheesy legend of the Chocolate hills. She said that one of the more famous legends tells a story of a giant who fell in love with a beautiful lady. Now this beautiful lady was engaged to be married and a part of the wedding ceremony, she has to bathe in the lake naked. Now the giant saw her and couldn’t help but reach out to her. Once the giant picked her up the lady was overcome by fear and died. The giant mourned the death of her loved one and cried for so many days. The tears dried up and up to this day stand as the symbol of the Giants grief and are now what we know the Chocolate Hills. I told you it was cheesy!



K told us that we had to climb hundreds of steps to fully appreciate the beauty of the chocolate hills from the viewing deck. I must say, as mushy as the legend is, there was nothing cheesy about the splendour that greeted us. The moment we were on top, we tried to catch our breath, not only from the steep climb but also because of the beauty that welcomed us. The viewing deck gave as a 180 degree-view of the hills and they were simply majestic. Such a shame this site didn’t make it as a finalist to the 7 wonders of nature for it’s truly breathtaking.

From the chocolate hills, we stopped by the man made forest going to the giant python, Prony. The man made forest has been an initiative of the local government to help the once deteriorating forest of the island and after 50 years, the trees have been kept safe from loggers and they are constantly being monitored. Such feat should be followed by other LGUs I think.

After the man made forest stop, we went on and visited Prony, she is the largest python in captivity ever known (via). In this python sanctuary, it was not the python that caught my fancy, it was Marimar, and he referred to himself as Prony’s twin. What initially caught my attention was when he greeted us in Dutch (heck he knew more Dutch than I do). He started telling us Prony’s history, his eating habits and finally asked us if we want to see him perform which of course we readily agreed. He was amazing, he hung himself upside down while lip synching a Regine Velasquez song. He was really pretty with his make up and the red dress that he was wearing, I even told honey that he really looks like Michael V. (when Michael V dresses up like a woman).





After being amused with Marimar, err Prony, we passed by a bolo making house (there was nothing special there) and a nipa weaving lady (also nothing special there) before we finally made it to Baclayon church. Baclayon church is the second oldest church in the Philippines (next to San Agustin church in Intramuros). The massive walls and the tainted glasses gave me a feeling that I’m somehow in the Spanish era. Honey and I took turns in taking pictures and K kindly asked us if we want our picture taken. She picked the spot where to take the picture and when we all looked at the picture she has taken, she pointed out to the wall which eerily seemed to have a face on it. She said that the face has started to appear a couple of months ago and a lot of people are saying that the face looks like Father Pio (I’m not sure who he is).




Our last stop for the day was the souvenir shop, of course no tour is complete without souvenir shopping. We hoarded several delicacies and some pasalubongs.

The entire day was tiring but it was so worth it. It really pays off to have knowledgeable and nice people to show you around their town. Thanks to K and Kuya Ferry for the unforgettable tour, honey and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

A piece of Paradise in Bohol

One of the highlights of our recent Manila holidays was going to Bohol for a much needed R&R. Since this would be the last time that honey and I are travelling by ourselves, because soon enough we’ll have our little angel always with us, we wanted to make it extra special trip. We had to book everything at a very short period of time making it more difficult to have all our requirements met or otherwise making the trip very costly since it’s the peak season after all. Good thing one of my college friends, M, recently got married and had her honeymoon in Bohol just a few weeks earlier and she was able to recommend an agent who can take care of all our needs.

After browsing through websites and hotel and resort reviews, our first choice was to stay at the Amorita resort. However, after receiving the package options and price list from our very agent, we saw that our preferred resort costs twice as much as the resort that our agent recommends (which happens to be the same resort M and her husband stayed at and she had all nice things to say about it) with fewer inclusions. Our agent explained that this is because the resort is almost fully booked so the prices are much higher than their normal rates. So without thinking any further, we decided to go for Alona Tropical.



I must say, I couldn’t be any happier with our choice. The first indication that the resort really strives to give great service was when we arrived at the resort at around 9 am. Normally we would have to wait till 2pm before we could check in but they readied our room for us and checked us in immediately, without extra cost. At first we stayed at a beach front room that was quite further from the beach front but after soaking in the sun for a couple of hours, honey was able to request for a different room that was literally 10 steps away from the beachfront, perfect!

(in front of our beach front room)


(posing after taking a dip in the pool)

Since my OB in Manila told me that I was not allowed to swim, I had to content myself with lounging in front of the beach while dozing off or reading a book, that was when I noticed that the resort that we initially wanted to stay at was right next to Alona Tropical and that they don’t have a beach front of their own. Since they are located at the top of a cliff, their guests would have to go down the stairs (which would not have been very convenient at my present condition) and use the stretch of beach in front of Alona Tropical. That was when honey and I were convinced that we made the right choice. Anyway, we were able to savour the view from that resort the night we had dinner at their restaurant overlooking the beach stretch of Alona.


I would definitely recommend Alona Tropical to anyone who wants to go to Bohol. It offers great value for money, the service is impeccable, the amenities are great, I love the homey feel of the spacious and well kept rooms and it definitely made our stay in Bohol more special.

Our girl is now a Big Girl

Cute!!!! Imagine me shrieking this word with a decibel that hurt my brother in law’s pet cats’ ear. Sorry, I can’t help it. The moment I entered my sister’s kitchen and saw her feeding her little angel, I just yelped out the word.




Now that I’m thinking about it though, cute doesn’t begin to describe our little Alex’ big hazel eyes, her dark brown curly hair and her hypnotic smile. Indeed she does. No wonder all my sisters in the Philippines went gaga over her during her one month visit to Manila. She’s simply captivating. She started to cry the moment honey and I entered because she doesn’t recognize us anymore. It figures, the last time we saw her was six months ago. However, after just half an hour of trying to woo her, she gave in. She’s much bigger now than the last time I saw her and she is starting to become prettier as opposed to just being cute the last time we were together. Her plump pink cheeks are now more defined, our Michelin girl is now gone, in her place is this big pretty girl.






She loves to turn and twirl and tumble in the bed, when I carry her around she turns around as well. She is very curious about anything and everything around her. And when you ask her to give you a kiss, she sticks out her tongue and touches your lips or cheeks with it. Honey quipped by saying “she gives you an authentic French kiss.” Hehe. Indeed she does. She doesn’t like to sit long on her stool and would look at you with pleading eyes to take her from the stool, which of course I can’t ignore. Honey and I enjoyed Alex’ company over the entire weekend, we can’t seem to get enough of her.



As they say, all things must come to an end, with heavy hearts we had to say goodbye to Alex on Sunday morning to embark on another seven-hour drive back home. I sure hope to see her again very soon. I do hope and pray that Alex grows up to be a good, loving, God-fearing kid.

Dilemma

via

I know it’s still like a gazillion months away before we go back to Manila, but honey and I are already trying to make arrangements for the trips that we want to make when we’re in the Philippines. The reason for this is because we wanted to take our entire family to a trip. This is where our dilemma begins. I really have two destinations in mind for our family holiday, Ilocos or Boracay. I’ve been in both places before and I remember having a grand time. I was leaning towards Ilocos because honey has never been there but honey is inclined to choose Boracay because he knows that the kids and the kids at heart would have all sorts of stuff to do.

Since we’re talking of a very big group here (around 20-25 people) and of different age brackets, honey and I would have to consider a place where everyone would have something to enjoy. Another factor to consider is the package deals that are offered, since we’re a big group, might as well make use of the purchasing power and make sure that we’re getting the best value for our money.

I know that honey and I are looking at a big project but I’m really hoping that we pull off this entire shebang coz I know it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

If you have any suggestions on where best to eat, stay or any spots that is a must visit in these two places, it would be greatly appreciated as it will help us make the final decision. Thanks

Looking forward to the next holidays

These past couple of weeks have been so busy in the office that I am completely burned out by the end of each week and before I know it, the entire weekend has gone by leaving me still wanting more time to rest.

I must say, one of the things that relieve my stress is thinking of the next holiday that honey and I are taking. Oh, I’m so looking forward to visiting my sister in France in two weeks, in time for her daughter’s 1st birthday. I so miss that cute little cherubim, my little Michelin girl… hehe.

I have also convinced honey to finally bring me to Italy and that trip is scheduled in May. I just can’t wait. We’re planning to visit Milan, then Rome and finally Venice, my dream city to visit.

And finally, the biggest holiday planned this year is in November, we’ll be celebrating honey’s birthday back home with all our loved ones.

There, I’m a bit more energized now, just the mere thought of all the good times ahead relaxes me and keeps me going. I just need to hang in there for a couple of weeks more.

Disneyland… Magical

(gate entrance to disneyland parking)

One of the greatest dreams of most kids I know is to go to Disneyland. Maybe the reason for this is because we’ve been exposed to Cinderella’s, Belle’s, Ariel’s, Rose’s and Snow White’s uber romantic fairytale stories at a very young age. Or maybe because we’ve all adored Mickey and Minnie mouse for as long as I can remember. Whatever the reason maybe, Disneyland exudes this magic that entices kids of all ages and of all races. True enough, as a young girl, I am one of those kids who dreamed of someday visiting the Disneyland park.
(Sleeping Beauty's Castle)


We’ve been to Paris a couple of times but we’ve never got to visit Disneyland, all of that changed day after Christmas, my very own Santa, my honey, took me to Disneyland Park. The little girl inside me finally got her long time wish come true. It was a beautiful park, the castle, the ships and the Disneyland characters we all know and have loved through the years. It was pure magic. I can’t help but believe that Disneyland is indeed enchanted.
(House of Terror)

(Jack's Beanstalk.... I think)

We spent two entire days roaming around the park, exploring all the rides, the castles and taking pictures of the Disney Characters in spite of the minus 5 degrees Celsius temperature. At the end of both days, I felt my hands, my face and my entire body numb from the cold but it was all worth it. Hopefully, next time we come back to the Magical World of Disney, I the magically numbing winter will be over.
(beautiful display of lights in Sleeping Beauty's Castle at night)

In Transit

(photo from flickr)
When honey and I were on vacation in Manila about two years ago, we spotted this cutesy neon pink travelling bag, immediately I told him that we have to buy it! I was already thinking of the convenience it would bring each time we travel. You see, before that, all our travelling bags were mostly black and you can just imagine my frustration at the end of a long haul flight, tired and sleepy and excited to get out of the airport, when I struggle to find the luggage that is mine simply because it looks like everyone else’s. I was also thinking that having a travelling bag that is the same as everyone else increases the risk of me loosing my things because someone else might take my bag by mistake. And when you are travelling a long way, the last thing that you want is to be inconvenienced and loose all your things. So I was happy with my trusted neon pink luggage, no more difficulty identifying which is mine from then on, I recognize my bag the moment the conveyor belt spats it out and I was convinced that from then on no lost luggage for me, until yesterday.

Honey picked up a friend from the airport last night who is visiting us for a couple of weeks. As I heard them enter the door, I immediately rushed to welcome our visitor. I was surprised that all he had with him is a back pack that is not even full, after all he’s staying with us until new year. That is when they told me that his luggage was lost. It is so inconvenient for him especially he is visiting at the full swing of winter and all his winter clothes are in the bag. And guess what all they gave him for this huge annoying incident is an emergency pack that contains what? A toothbrush, a toothpaste, and some other toiletries. Hello! Can these toiletries give him warmth as he steps outside where its 1 degree Celsius. I told him that he should have demanded that they at least buy him a winter jacket or gave him at least a change of clothes. So far, we still don’t know when his luggage will resurface. I really do hope that airlines, who charge you an arm and a leg by the way, would have a more sensible and concrete response to cases like this and not think that giving a customer an “emergency kit” is enough compensation for the inconvenience of a lost luggage.

This only goes to show that one can only be so cautious, there are several things that might happen that is way beyond our control. Thank God this has never happened to us before, and hopefully not in the future. I’m hoping that my cutesy neon pink bag is not only convenient when collecting our luggage at the conveyor belt but also a lucky bag that will not get lost. :-)

Warm breeze & cool water: Perfect combination

When we were about to board the plane to Changi Airport, we had 5 degrees Celsius here in Amsterdam so anything warmer is like a breath of fresh air. The moment we landed, we started taking off jackets and sweats and started shoving them inside our luggage. A warm and humid air welcomed us as we stepped out of the airport.

After we dumped our bags in the hotel room, dinner was served in the hotel restaurant and right after that, the video committee (of which I am a part of) decided to meet before going out for a night cap beside the hotel pool. I could hardly keep my head in the very short meeting, the cool, blue water was like calling my name and asking me to take a dip. A made a mental note to wake up early the next morning to oblige and take refuge in the tempting blue pool to refresh myself from the humidity and heat. True to my promise, at exactly seven the following morning, I was in the pool area. Another great thing about Singapore weather is its warm enough to swim any time of the day (or night). Being very early on a Sunday morning, the pool area was so quiet so I and two other colleagues enjoyed the serenity and comfort of the pool all by ourselves.


From then on, one of the things that I looked forward to was the late night or early morning dates with the swimming pool. For me it was a workout which happens to be therapeutic at the same time. It also gave me an opportunity to lounge under the sun that I so miss, after all, he rarely shows himself here in Amsterdam (especially now it’s winter). Even after we moved to the new hotel, which by way also had a great pool area, I managed to squeeze in an hour of our very hectic last day to lounge in the pool.



(photo below was taken from my room on the 52nd floor before going down to take a dip on the pool)


I’m definitely going to miss lounging under the sun and dipping in the pool but for now I would have to make do with my long bubble baths during weekends at home until honey brings me to another holiday trip on the beach (or pool, i'm really not choosy).

Singapore Trip: Chinese Temple in old China Town

I have always believed that in every city, if there is one place that never fails to give an impression of the town’s history and culture that would be the church or temple or mosque. This is the reason why every time I find myself in a new city, most often than not, the very first stop would be a church, aside from the fact that this is also an influence of my mom. For me, this practice is like hitting two birds with one stone, first, I get to see the evolution of the place’s ethos and second, I get the chance to pray.



Singapore is no exception, this is why I was so thrilled when our tour guide took us to one of the oldest temples in China town. I can’t help but be amazed by the details on the ceiling and columns of the temple. There are several altars within the temple and she explained that people pray to each of them for various reasons. There were two lions (well, I think they were lion) on each side of the entrance and our tour guide explained that all Chinese temple has them and they serve as guards. Upon entering the main entrance is a place where people light their incense. At the top of the roof were two very intricate dragons. Our tour guide explained that a certain number of dragons (it escapes me at the moment how many exactly) can only be used to signify the emperor.


There’s no doubt about it, this temple is truly a mirror of Singapore’s history and culture. From the plasters on the ceiling to the elaborate mouldings on the walls to the ornate design of the roof to the detailed carvings of each gods and goddesses, there is no denying how rich the culture of Singaporeans is.

Singapore: The Lion City

Warm and humid air welcomed our group as we stepped out of the Changi Airport a little after two in the afternoon, much, much warmer than the 5 degree Celsius gasps of wind that we left behind in Amsterdam. Our group proceeded to the Mercure Roxy Hotel in Parkway Parade, which served as our home for the next five days before we transfer to the Stamford Hotel (which was much closer to the city centre) at the end of our trip here in Singapore.

The moment I inhaled the warm breeze of Singapore, I can’t help but feel closer to home. Although Singapore is much cleaner and organized than Manila, the tall buildings, the traffic, the warm people and the abundance of shopping malls simply made it all too familiar to me. I can’t help but get excited every time I see something so familiar like 7-eleven, Bread Talk, gravy being served in KFC (I know, I shouldn’t have eaten KFC, I was in Singapore for heavens sakes, but I got too excited about the gravy!), mangosteen (some of which I took with me back here in Amsterdam), The Coffee Bean, shops opened after six pm and so much more! It was like being in Manila, but then again not being in Manila.

Our second day in Singapore was devoted entirely for exploring the city. The very first stop of our tour was the famous Merlion. According to our very nice tour guide, Merlion is an imaginary creature with the head of a lion and body of a fish which symbolizes the fishing village that Singapore once was and Singapore’s original name “Singapura” which means lion city.



Our tour went on and our tour guide pointed several streets that are historic and buildings which are landmarks in Singapore. We also went to Little India, and quite timely, a couple days before our visit, they have celebrated Deepavali or the festival of lights, so a lot of streets and corners are still decorated with beautiful light displays.

We really had fun during the tour and I have to say, although Singapore is a very small country, it holds a lot of treasure to be discovered and it has a lot to offer. I agree with one of the posters we saw in the city which says “In Singapore if you’re bored, it’s not our fault.” True enough it would one’s own fault if he finds himself with nothing to do in this very exciting city.

Looking forward

One of the things I enjoy most in life is travelling (especially with my Honey), so I am thrilled to finally be travelling to one of the most popular destinations in Asia, Singapore. I’m flying off by the end of next week and will be staying there for over a week. Although I’ll most probably be confined in meetings for most part of those days, I have the 2 weekends and afternoons/evenings to explore the city. I haven’t been to Singapore before so I am looking forward to this trip.

I have found useful information on the internet about travelling to Singapore, however, I was hoping to find more tips on which specific spots to go to, which food to try and what souvenirs should be had specially for first time visitors like me, so I am hoping that anyone passing by my blog who has been to Singapore may be kind enough to share their experiences/tips/comments/suggestions. Many thanks in advance.