Wanderlust Diary

HongKong.

The city that I will forever cherish and love…sounds so cheesy right?  Because I love HongKong!  Seriously, though this place seems so small.  I am always amazed at what I get to discover every time I visit.  I secretly want to live there for a while so I can feel how it is to live in a place that is a “beautiful madness‘.

Honestly, I haven’t really toured around.  Mainly because my mom or aunt bring us around the place.  It’s my second home (literally because I’m proud to be a PR there!)  I only been to Disneyland, Ocean park, Mongkok and a whole lot of shopping areas.

Food is definitely great!  I never miss a good dimsum treat even in small quaint shops I see along the busy streets of Hongkong.  Shopping makes me high as I scout the cheapest and most fashionable pieces.  It’s difficult to haggle in the night markets as they would want you to buy once you give them the price you want (I remember being scolded for not buying what I asked).  Well, aside from some culture shock you might encounter, take note that they speak Cantonese so it’s more difficult to understand (especially taxi drivers, you would need someone to write the street/place you are going to in Chinese).

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Exploring through the unfamiliar city I grew to love, with my travel buddies (R, B and A), we walked from our hotel to the nearest BTS (Skytrain) map. It was so long ago when I got to step into the streets of Bangkok but with keen eyes looking after us (I was still young and afraid). I have forgotten how the city looked like, I was not able to experience the great shopping escapades that my girl friends were all talking about.  Staying in Singapore for a time being had trained my eyes in seeing more of subways than over pass trains (if that is what it is called).  It almost felt like walking in the streets of Manila.   More Caucasian tourists walked around in open curiosity of what surprises Bangkok will offer them.   I myself was surprise to see an elephant begging with a man on the streets.

We tried to visit malls first (the likes of Siam Paragon, MBK however I found that cheap markets (Chatuchak, Platinum Mall) more fulfilling in making me giddy after a long day of walk.  Aside for a worth it shopping experience, you also can get to eat some authentic Thai food which can titillate your tongues senses (spicy and sour).  We had a handful of experiences Wat (temple) hopping

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This is one of the natural wonders of Philippines that fascinated me. When I was studying Social Studies in Grade school, I used to dream about seeing this and wonder if it really does look like chocolates. That name itself sounds delicious! Chocolate Hills is one of the wonders of the Bohol. Well, it did shocked me that I can also see other nice sights around.

I’ve been here twice, though I toured the place twice, it’s good to see that it didn’t change at all (well, it was just 1 year apart anyway).

The first visit with my friends, we stayed at Panglao Island resort which is actually good, peaceful but quite secluded. The second visit with my family, we stayed at Amarela Resort which is also good and relaxing but a bit off track. You can actually try Alona Beach Resort or Bohol Beach Club which I heard has better beach front.

One should definitely rent a van (usually around PHP1500-2000/day) where the driver will bring you to the usual tourist spots. We visited some of the usual like this statue that signifies the bond of those first Spaniards who conquered Philippines and those local Datu (leaders). It’s actually called the Blood Compact Monument.

We also tried the boat ride along the famous river Loboc.. There’s this buffet lunch while you ride the boat along the river. It took around 30-40 minutes until you reach the end then go back. The food was so so but it was refreshing to ride the river on a cool day. It reminded me of the book Love in the Time of Cholera.

While we were brought around, we also passed by a man made forest which they call it, it’s quite serene looking at it..it was a long a mountain driveway. The driver told us it was not really natural but it did looked like one.

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Every time I am in Cebu (Philippines), I always find time to visit this hotel resort called Shangrila Mactan.. This might not be cheap but you will surely feel relax here.

I first came here with my friend who stays in Cebu. She treated us to stay here for a night but after that, I always want to go back. My favorite restaurant here is called Acqua which is surprisingly not that pricey but looks so classy. It serves Italian cuisine which is one of my favorite. Their thin crust Hawaiian pizza is a must try! You can also visit the romantic bar by the sea (Cowrie Cove) or indulge in their spa Chi or have a pleasurable fulfilling buffet dinner at the Tides.

For those who wants to get a tan, you can visit the man-made beach and lounge around. The beach is considered a nice alternative for those who do not have time to go far. The resort hotel is just 30-40 minutes away from the capital of Cebu (Mandaue). If I guessed correctly, I think this is a five-star resort hotel that a lot of tourists (especially Koreans) frequent in.

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Genting Highlands is one of the famous places for casinos in Malaysia. It’s actually just a small area on top of the mountains which is one hour away from the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

I had an idea what Genting is but I never imagined it was small. It reminds me of a place in my hometown called Tagaytay which has a cool weather like that of Genting and nice nature view.

It was cold that day we went up Genting. And I saw a magnificent view of clouds below us! We had to stop and take a picture but could not capture this beauty with our cameras. We went on a Sunday and I was really expecting that the place would probably be less crowded because people will start going back already but it was still very crowded. It took us 30 minutes to find a parking space and we waiting for more than 2 hours to be able to check in our hotel (First World Hotel).

Honestly, I was astounded by the numerous rooms of this hotel (the rooms don’t have air condition since it is cool outside, you just have to open the ceiling fan). The room was ok, clean and quite spacey but the hotel service is bad.

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Imagine the multitude mountains that you can see fro m afar…you see mother earth’s treasure that brings peace in all who wants to see. I seldom see this natural beauty so it left me in awe even though my feet were killing me already. Huangshan’s beauty is one of the astonishing wonders of China. It’s the best among the five majestic mountains of the country. My Chinese teacher once said that if you visited this mountain, you don’t need to see the other ones.

I’ve visited this mountain as we take our last journey before going back home last time. After going to Shanghai, we were able to get a package from one local travel agency to bring us to that place. I remember watching Kungfu Panda last time and I thought that the background looks like that of Huangshan.
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We went to a short trip to a nearby beach from Singapore to surprise our dear friend one day. The place is called Desaru, Malaysia. From Singapore, we had to take a ferry at Changi Ferry Terminal (ticket around 22sgd roundtrip). We arrived less than hour to the city then we rented an old van to go to the hotel (Pulai Desaru).

My journey in Kuala Lumpur was tiring but memorable. It was a long business/leisure trip but I managed to sneak in some sightseeing before our actual team building starts. My company made me come to Kuala Lumpur earlier than planned since my boss will drive up to the city with only one of my colleagues so since I can work everywhere (mobile=laptop), I gathered things and packed up hurriedly that week for an early drive to Kuala Lumpur, my first trip to the capital of Malaysia.

I was able to visit the famous Petronas Tower on my second day in the bustling city. It was a must to see one of the tallest building around the world. It had helped Malaysia placed itself on the map of must sees. I remember seeing it in the movie Entrapment long ago.

I had to queue up early in the morning to get tickets in the last show/entry for the sky bridge. It was free but you had to be early to get the earliest time possible. They start giving tickets at around 830am. We planned to go there after work so we got the tickets for the 630pm show. For a supposed short trip up (around less than a minute lift going up), we had to endure a 10-15 minutes show about Petronas’ history (as it is the oil company of Malaysia).
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I remember my first airplane ride. I honestly got so excited seating by the window side of the airplane. I was quite curious on why the plane looks so small from afar but then when I enter, there was a long stretch of seats waiting to be filled. It was summer in 1991 when my family had a first trip to Taipei with me too! I was too small to be brought when they went to Hongkong. I couldn’t quite understand why I had to wear jacket (it never occurred to me how different temperature from my hometown (Manila) versus anywhere around the world.

We went for a package tour since my parents were also first timers in Taipei. I was more concern about the petty things I came across (like hotel rooms, airplane food, air pressure during take off and landing, collecting luggages from the carousel, wake up calls, cameras, my small waistbag) It wasn’t the eye-opener yet. But slowly, after a few more travels around Asia when I grew a bit older, I was more curious about the different cultures, history, people of the cities I went to.

Discovering the road less traveled arouse my passion more and more. I love traveling as I carry a bit of knowledge about the places I’ve been to. Though my memory can be a blur, I vividly remember the steps I took in places that left an impression on me. May it be about the delicious food or unique cultural practice, I opt to share this knowledge with other people as well.

If time and money permits me to travel leisurely, I’ll do it any time of the day. Of course, I’m not a loner so I do these with my lovable companions (friends, family).

Hope readers will find these post helpful =)