A flashback on Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai in Manila (July 2011) – with my husband’s stage act!

I don’t really have a bucket list, but one of the many things I would like to experience is the thrill of witnessing live acts in the sophisticatedly mad world of performing arts. I am not at all a knowledgeable critic of the arts. I am just an average person who appreciates it and likes to be highly entertained. So when I learned that Cirque du Soleil was coming to Manila, I grabbed the chance to experience a world-class circus spectacle live. The touring production that came to Manila was “Varekai”.


Promotional ad by BDO

Travel flashback: Baragatan Festival in Puerto Princesa, Palawan (June 2011)

Right after our Coron trip that gave me my first ever breathtaking experience of Palawan, I promised myself to go back to this beautiful island province and explore its other parts. It turned out that my promise came to form unplanned when I was able to catch a PhP 88 promo fare by Cebu Pacific to all domestic destinations like Puerto Princesa! I initially booked myself, Pol and my mom with the promo fare and it was yet six months before the travel period. And when my brother came home from the US a month before our flight, we booked him with the regular fare.





Travel flashback: Legazpi City and Daraga, Albay (May 2011)

My trip to my beloved Pol’s home province Albay was very much last-minute. Pol had already booked a flight to Legazpi well in advance for himself to celebrate the Feast of San Vicente Ferrer in his barangay with his family. When his flight was coming near, his twin nieces suggested that I come with him. And since I had just gained freedom from my old job during that time, I had all the time in the world to have fun and it was a perfect time to visit because of the fiesta. I booked myself just a few days before the flight. It was my first time to ever visit his hometown, Legazpi City.



 

Travel flashback: A glorious getaway in Bali (Indonesia, Part 2, March 2011)

This post is a continuation of our Indonesia tour. Click here for our Jakarta side trip (Day 0, Day1, & Day 2, Part 1)


Because Cebu Pacific only flies to Indonesia through Jakarta, we had to book domestic flights from Jakarta to Bali. We only spent one day of touring Jakarta and really wanted to stay in Bali for as many days as we could. I took the chance for us to stay in Indonesia for almost a week.



Travel flashback: Jakarta side trip (Indonesia, Part 1, March 2011)

This post is the first part of our Indonesia trip. Click here for our Bali getaway (from Day 2, Part 2 to Day 5)
 
Just like my Bacolod trip a month before our flight to Jakarta, I got our round-trip Jakarta flights from Cebu Pacific’s 10-10-10 promo last October 10, 2010 where all one-way international flights were PhP 1,010 and all domestic flights were only PhP 10, with travel period from January to March 2011. This was another unplanned flight where I just had to take advantage of the absence of fuel surcharges, with five months of preparation for our budget. I booked myself, Pol, and my mom. I must admit too that I really wanted to go to Bali so badly!



Travel flashback: Bacolod and the rest of Negros Occidental (February 2011)

My trip to Bacolod was an unplanned thing because of the crazy PhP 10 seat sale Cebu Pacific had (10-10-10 promo last October 10, 2010) for all domestic flights. Because there were no fuel surcharges back then, I booked myself, my mom, my dad, and Pol for round-trip flights to Bacolod at only about PhP 800 all in! Along with this domestic booking, I also booked myself, my mom and Pol to Jakarta to take advantage of the PhP 1,010 sale for all international flights. Travel periods for these promo flights were from January to March 2011.





Travel flashback: Hue, ancient capital of Vietnam (October 2010)

This post is a continuation of our Vietnam tour. Click here for our HCMC  / Saigon tour (Day 1 & Day 2, Part 1)


After our 2-day tour of Ho Chi Minh City which made us learn about the US-Vietnam War and observe the fusion of French and Vietnamese cultures, we were bound to Hue for some learnings on Vietnam's ancient history.

Travel flashback: Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon, Vietnam (October 2010)

This post is the first part of our Vietnam tour. Click here for our Hue tour (Day 2 Part 2 and Day 3)


It had been only five months since our struggling Bangkok trip and we found ourselves again bound to another ASEAN neighbor. I guess our trip to Thailand had been very affordable for us and even other Filipinos, that we were still able to visit another country within the same year of 2010. Of course, we chose another budget-friendly but culturally rich country, Vietnam. So far, it’s my favorite Southeast Asian nation, next of course to the Philippines.





Travel flashback: Coron, Palawan (July 2010)

Since Pol and I agreed to have at least one foreign trip per year together, it is all the more a must for us to have at least one domestic trip as well. July 2010 was the month of our fourth year anniversary as a dating couple, and Pol specially wanted to celebrate it in Coron, Palawan.

Travel flashback: The neighboring provinces of Bangkok during the Red-Shirt protests in 2010

This blog post covers Days 2 and 3 of our Thailand trip: our visit to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo, and Ancient Siam, all found in Bangkok's neighboring provinces.

Travel flashback: Bangkok trip during the Red-Shirt protests in 2010

Ever since our first foreign travel in 2009, Pol and I agreed to have at least one foreign trip per year together. We then decided to head next to Bangkok for 2010. We booked as early as six months before our target date in May. I booked my mom too when a promo fare later presented itself. We were three happy summer travelers then.

The dragon baby and my first new year as an expectant momma at Edsa Shangri-La

Dear Baby P,

Your Mommy, Daddy, uncle Jake and I, together with occasional visitors, always celebrated our New Year’s Eve at home. Every year we decorate the dining tables with twelve kinds of round fruits, we scatter chocolate coins and real coins around the house, and we turn all the lights and appliances on at home. We only made loud noises and never used firecrackers, because we’re contented with watching our neighbors light up and display their colorful fireworks.





Preggers just wanna have fun!

Dear Baby P,

I write to you this post on my 29th week of pregnancy, where I have finally entered our third trimester together. I just wanted to recall the fun I’ve had during my second trimester, which I could say was my most comfortable period of our nine-month journey.

Travel flashback: Ilocandia Express 2009

Pol and I happened to go on an Ilocos escapade by chance when Pol’s colleague handed down to him a single round-trip ticket to Laoag that he had won but wasn’t interested in using. When Pol told me about this, we grabbed this opportunity to explore the beauty of the north and immediately booked ourselves by using the free ticket for Pol and we just had to pay for one person (me). Eventually, Pol was able to tag along his other former colleagues Imee and JP for a double date escapade at Ilocos.

Travel flashback: Singapore 2009 (continuation of the Malaysia-Singapore trip)

Click here to see my previous post on our prior Kuala Lumpur trip. 


We arrived at the KTMB (Keratapi Tanah Melayu Berhad) Tanjong Pagar station in Singapore at around 7:30 am, where this was also our point of entry from Johor Bahru in Malaysia. From the KTMB station, we took a long walk to MRT Tanjong Pagar station, purchased EZ-Link adult tickets, and dropped off to Bugis station where the nearest MRT station from our hotel is. Just outside Bugis station is Bugis Junction, a lifestyle complex along Bugis Street. From there, we took one last short walk to Park View Hotel along Beach Road.

Border between Johor Bahru and Singapore

MRT Tanjong Pagar station



Mall beside Bugis Junction

Travel flashback: Kuala Lumpur 2009

(Click here for our Singapore trip)


Pol and I wanted to celebrate our 3rd anniversary as a dating couple in an out-of-the-country escapade. We decided to go for a Malaysia-Singapore trip and this was our very first time to travel abroad together. Pol had been to Kuala Lumpur before for a business trip, but it was only for one night. Our travel plan was to book an AirAsia flight from Clark to Kuala Lumpur, a sleeper train ride via Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, and then a Cebu Pacific flight from Singapore to Manila. Our whole trip is proudly DIY.

View of Petronas Twin Towers & KL Tower

Travel flashback: Pahiyas Festival 2009 in Lucban, Quezon

It is not enough for me to describe what the Pahiyas Festival is about, aside from being a feast every May 15 in honor of San Isidro Labrador with thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest, wherein the sights to behold are households with colorful agricultural ornaments. More than just the beautiful exteriors of each friendly competing house, tourists can go inside most of the houses too and see more of the residents' creativity. See more information here.

An image of San Isidro Labrador

One of the festively decorated houses

Travel and Valentine's day flashback: The 14th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) 2009 on the 14th of February!

It was a Saturday on the 14th of February in 2009, with that year as the 14th annual event! For me it was the perfect date and year to really celebrate Valentine's day at the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) in Clark, Pampanga.

Hot air balloon fly-in at 6 pm-ish

Your Mama and Papa's Honeymoon

Dear Baby P,

One ordinary day, your Papa got lucky as he was able to book four zero-fare seats to Hong Kong. Your Papa initially booked me, himself, your Ate Gela and Ate Geli. When I learned about this, I decided to book your Mama Myr, Ate Ding, Ate Che and Tita Vicky, also with the zero-fare seats. The date of the trip was October 17, and the booking was made months before you were conceived.

Travel flashback: Christmas 2008 in Macau

Our trip to Macau was very short. We initially planned to skip our half-day Hong Kong City tour so that we could spend one whole day in Macau. However, the tour operator insisted that it was compulsory, and assured us that we could still tour Macau in just half a day, and that they would drop us off at the New World First Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui after the HK city tour.