CebuanaViajero

Travel Time: Mactang Beach

2018-09-14T17:00:00.000+08:00

Before our trip to Camotes Islands, Calvin had told me about going to a place called Mactang where the battle of Lapulapu and Magellan happened.

At first I was a bit hesitant as I learned that the battle happened in Mactan Island, the island right across Cebu island.

For those who do not know what the battle was all about, I will give you an overview.

In March 16, 1521 Magellan, a Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, landed in one of the Visayan islands of the Philippines and traveled from one island to another to Christianize the natives. He first Christianize the Cebu King and the king had asked all other chieftains under his rule to follow suit however, Lapulapu who is one of the chieftains in the island of Mactan is against it. So when Magellan went to the island of Mactan at dawn, Lapulapu fought with his men on a low tide sea and there the Portuguese explorer died on April 27, 1521.

The controversy hereon is "Where did the Battle of Lapulapu and Magellan really happened?" is it at the Mactan island or the small town Mactang in Poro island.

There were excavations done in both places and only in Poro where they found human skeletons longer than the natives of the islands and other ornaments that makes it seem to be from other countries.

But there has been no change on this part of the history and where the battle really occurred is still a mystery for Archaeologists and other curious minds. Yet, one thing is a fact that Magellan was killed by Lapulapu. Additionally, it also made our trip more interesting as we touch the soil that could have been the place of the battle.

In the history, it said:

"When morning came, forty-nine of us leaped into the water up to our thighs, and walked through water for more than two cross-bow flights before we could reach the shore. The boats could not approach nearer because of certain rocks in the water. The other men remained behind to guard the boats. When we reached land, [the natives] had formed in three divisions to the number of more than one thousand five hundred persons. When they saw us, they charged down upon us with ear-shattering loud cries... The musketeers and crossbow-men shot from a distance for about a half-hour, but uselessly..." credits to Wikipedia

So, while I was walking in the sea by the rocky part, where it only reaches to my thighs even if I go further away, it makes me imagine of the battle happening right in front of me. But I didn't want to get wet at this time, so I only stayed until the rocks and just enjoyed dipping my legs and feet.

The water was crystal clear and super clean it was like inviting me to swim but it was low tide and I didn't want to swim far away from the shore.

And here is a notice from the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Poro island: Under the Republic Act 7942, it is not allowed to take sands from the shores and the sea. This is for the welfare of the island and everyone. When you are caught, you will have to pay a penalty of Php 20, 000 or 370 USD (1 USD is PhP 54) AND you'll get imprisoned for six (6) months. Thank you very much!

And here are some couple pictures.

Tip: Best to travel around Camotes on a motorcycle, you can drive around the islands in just a few hours well depending on your speed.

Also, to find where Mactang is located, you can search it in Google Maps or you can also find it in the map from our previous post

Thank you for reading! Please do anticipate our next travel or food post!

For more questions, suggestions, etc, feel free to comment us. Have a great day!

Travel Time: Lawis, Camotes

2018-08-31T17:00:00.000+08:00

One of the beautiful places to visit in Camotes is this Marine Sanctuary in the Poro island. The ride is not that very far from the Baywalk or Mactang Beach.

It is a very nice place to relax, have fun with swings and benches. The place has outdoor speakers and comfort room as well. Not really sure if you can swim since it is a sanctuary.

Here is a map to show you how to get there. Also, there is a sign on the left side, if you are following this map, where it will say Lawis Marine Sanctuary Park.

From the Baywalk in Pacijan Island to Poro Island. Turn left in a road that isn't a concrete or asphalt. It's like a shortcut road to another concrete road.

Once you find the concrete road, you turn left on that road and just go straight ahead.

When you are on your way to Poro town, slow down. On a Y junction road, go left and check the signs on the left side of the road. You will then find Lawis Marine Sanctuary. Just follow the map and you'll find your way in the beautiful, quiet, and serene park.

And oh! The important part is that there is no entrance fee and parking fee at the time of this post.

Additionally, the place is clean and there is a garbage bin for your trash so if ever you go there, be a responsible tourist and leave no trace, take nothing but pictures and be decent by respecting the place.

Thank you for reading! Please let us know if this guide has helped you in your journey in Camotes Island.

Do anticipate for our next travel or food related post!

Travel Time: Arqui's Viewing Deck

2018-08-17T17:00:00.000+08:00

It ain't my first time to visit Camotes island, but it felt like it was my first. It was Calvin's first time and our experience in the islands were amazing!

The first thing we both want to share with you is this gorgeous viewing deck. It isn't on the highest mountain, so what makes it special?

Because you can see both Lake Danao and the sea beyond.

In this photo, you can see the lake and Mt. Calvary.

It is quite cool even during the peak hours of the sunshine due to the trees and it is quite windy over there.

It is filled with luscious greenery and fresh air.

The place is very quiet, as we post this... This place had just opened just recently to the public. This building has been used by the Camotes Mayor to have his meetings with other government officials and the like but now even you and I can visit this place and relax while looking at the beautiful view.

Now you might have noticed a block of wood artistically standing there. We were all baffled as to what could that mean. And we came into conclusion that it is on a shape of Pacijan Island where this viewing deck is located. Just need to have the correct angle of the photo to make it look exactly the same. Just compare the photo below from Google Maps and rotate it. Doesn't it look ditto?

And here is the entrance looked like. With enough place for vehicles to park and a cute staircase going up towards the building.

Now, you might be curious on how to get there. This is where it got challenging for us. There was no proper locator even with the Google Map and only one or two other blogs shared this without enough information.

As this was just opened recently, the people doesn't really know what it is. But there was one clue for me, Monte Alegre. Also, we do not encourage you to walk, it is not a walking distance.

Let's start on the Y-Junction to Lake Danao, Holy Crystal Cake, and Tulang Diot island. Follow the arrow, just keep going straight...

If you are from Lake Danao, Holy Crystal Cave, and Tulang Diot, just turn left like the three-wheeled vehicle on the photo.

Until you are arrived at Brgy. Western Poblacion where Monte Alegre is located. This road is also the same road going to Fiesta Mall or short cut from Consuelo port to the Baywalk.

Before reaching Fiesta Mall, you will see "Tugas" sign at the right side, that means you are just a few meters closer to turn right.

Then you find this big tree and there are four ways, left, straight, and two right turns. Just choose to turn right to the concrete road or the first right turn.

This is the road to your destination.

Just follow the main road and be careful since there are some blind curves and cliffs. So better honk when turning to make sure that incoming vehicles are warned and everyone is safe.

Then you will see this almost hidden sign welcoming you to Brgy. Monte Alegre.

And a few meters away, you'll already see this breathtaking view. We aren't sure which island that was, maybe Leyte. Maybe you can tell us.

Then just go straight, but drive slowly since you are nearing your destination.

When you turn left over here, you will find a this white gate. Just ask some people or the care taker of the place for permission. You may choose to leave your vehicle near the gate or drive all the way to the viewing deck.

Then this is what you will find, a huge cottage that will fit a 100 and more people.

One thing we weren't sure of is the opening and closing time of the viewing deck.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you do get to stop by this place, leave a comment and share for others who loves some serenity and relaxation with the greenery.

Do look forward for our next travel or food post! Thank you so much for reading!

Travel: Tao Dan Park, Saigon

2018-08-03T17:00:00.000+08:00

How do you start your day? Do you start it with coffee? Do you start it with music? An exercise? A chat with a friend? Or just plain sitting down and reading something? However you want to start your day, you might want to start it in Tao Dan Park, Saigon the way Vietnamese do.

Tao Dan Park is only one of the many parks in the city. But what makes it special is its area composing of 10 hectares and a cafe where Vietnamese bird owners go to hang their birds. I mean their birdcages. The cafe is popularly called Bird Song Cafe although it really doesn't have a name on it.

As early as 6:30, some bird owners are already bringing in their birdcages covered with fabric to keep the bird from being stressed walking or riding on a motorcycle on their way to the park. The peak time that more bird owners arrive is at 7 AM and onward but not reaching lunch time.

You may want to know why they bring their birds together. It is for birds to learn different songs from different kinds of birds.

As a tourist, it is a very beautiful and relaxing way to start my day, especially paired with a Vietnamese coffee.

So, here are some photos of the birds. The owners are alright when taking photos of the birds as long as you don't get too close to the birdcages or the birds will get stressed.

This cafe is in the Cach Mang 8 Street entrance of the park.

After listening the bird song, you might want to go wander around the park.

Sit on a bench under tall trees, play badminton with friends or maybe with the locals, meet up to play some instruments or practice dancing in a gazebo, or do a photo shoot. I've seen people doing their engagement photos and I've done some with a friend and her boyfriend.

There is also a desert like area in the middle of the park. They have many kinds of cacti and other sharp plants.

There is also a Buddhist temple, I am not sure if it is sacred or if it is a replica.

While walking towards this temple, I saw a friend walking on the grass and up and down the trees.

If you get to meet him and his family and friends, please don't hurt them and just keep distance for the your safety.

I also found a fountain that was not working when I went there, but there were miniature figures like this one.

And here is a really huge tree near the motorcycle parking.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Please do anticipate for the next food or travel post.

Food: Vietnamese Pizza or Bánh Tráng Trứng

2018-07-20T17:00:00.000+08:00

In Vietnam, rice paper wrappers are all over the city as snacks and proper meals.

One of the popular snacks around is Vietnamese Pizza or Banh Trang Trung.

In the most visited area of District 1, 23/9 park in between Le Loi and Pham Ngu Lao street I met a local lady selling this delicious crispy easy treat.

A friend of mine was hungry and so she got this snack which costed 20, 000 VND or 0.87 USD.

She took a spoon from each ingredients available: dried anchovies, dried shrimps, spring onions, pork floss, quail egg and others I do not know of. Then put everything together in a container.

She mixed everything in a container.

Pour them all out to the rice paper.

Spread it all over. Then it is ready to grill.

When the egg and other ingredients are cooked, she then adds some mayonnaise (I believe). We couldn't talk to her in English since she doesn't speak the language, and we don't speak that much Vietnamese either.

Fold it in half.

Put it inside a paper bag and it is ready to eat. If you want to eat some, you can visit her at the Le Loi street side of the street near KFC or buy from someone else you can see from almost every street of Saigon.

By the way, I asked her for permission on taking a photo of her and she gladly accepted it. The consent was by body language.

Thank you for reading. Please do anticipate for the next travel or food related post.

A quide to The Big Bad Wolf Books in Cebu July 13-23 - 2018

2018-07-14T02:58:00.002+08:00

Living in the Philippines might be hard for book lovers, as the amount of book stores/offers is quite underwhelming. When we heard of the Big Bad Wolf Books Cebu event coming to Cebu we couldn't wait for the opening date on July 13.

The Big Bad Wolf Books is one of the biggest book lovers conventions in the world. Not do they only offer thousands of books, the price is marked down 60-80%! Truly a bookworm's paradise. Beside this the event has free admission for everyone!

The event takes place at the IEC convention center, Cebu City, Pope John Paul II Avenue. Only a short walk from Ayala Center mall. The convention center boasts a big parking area for people that decide to arrive with their own vehicle.

As the Big Bad Wolf Books Cebu is open 24 hours you'll be able to visit any minute of the day. Ideally, the best time to go there would be early morning during a weekday, that is of course, if you don't have any plans or could take a day of work. But be prepared to spend a lot of time inside as the amount of books offered is massive.

1. Comfortable clothes
Considering the amount of people attending the event, you can assume that the day you will visit will be packed. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes, proper sneakers/walking shoes and easy to wear.I'd advice to bring a sweater. if you are not used to an A/C blasting cold air.

Be sure to bring a backpack or any other kind of bag to comfortably bring your book haul back home! The cashiers do give plastic bags if you were wondering.

2. No food and beverages allowed inside
Unfortunately you are not allowed to bring any drinks (and food) inside. This will be checked upon entering the convention center! Be sure to head to the event on a full stomach and be well hydrated.

It would also be a good idea to drop-by the toilet before starting your hunt.

3. Genre categories/sections
Not sure what you would like to buy yet? Unfortunately, it's not sorted alphabetically, but there are sections for different kind of categories. Feel free to ask the staff if you can't fin that specific book you've been wanting to read. Or ask another fellow visitor about their books!

4. Affordable prices
The book sale has a discounted price of 60-80% on all books. But in case you already have a list of the books you'd like to buy, be sure to check the online prices and note it down. Some books are cheaper to buy outside the book sale.

5. Payment options
You were finally able to secure what you want to buy. Head over to the very long queue of the cashiers and make your payment. Which can be done by cash, credit card, and Gcash.

Don't want to hassle yourself with a credit/debit card? Be sure to bring enough cash so you won't leave disappointed. Or just head back another day!

I hope you will all enjoy this opportunity to store up on some affordable books!

Travel: Rainy Season in Saigon

2018-07-06T17:00:00.000+08:00

Staying in Vietnam for more than a year made me experience their weather all year round.

This post will be solely based on my experience and opinions.

A year ago, rain started mid-May but for this year it seemed to start in the first week of May. I wasn't able to record the rain from last year due to our camera being broken. However, this time I am able to do so.

The rain in Saigon that I have been experiencing in the first few weeks were really heavy, literally heavy. Either having a lot of water or the drops of water being huge creating a huge pool of water in many districts in just an hour of rain.

However, most rains in the middle of the month or around July gets really small and feels mostly like a drizzle. That kind of rain mostly happens within the remaining months of the year that is not part of the rainy season. But of course, when there is a typhoon, it might rain harder.

The positive side is that some pools of water just goes down fast in less than an hour after the rain stops. The downside, traffic can be super heavy that a usual 20 minute car ride will become an hour.

However, as traffic is unpredictable in the city, you can also say the same with the weather.

It is best to carry an umbrella at all times when the month of May steps in.

When I was in the weekend market few weeks ago, I witnessed once again how the rain poured down and people get through this obstacle.

Even if the rain or the water from the tent may fall on them, the artists are still doing their job as usual while the assistants who call for customers and receive the payment tries to keep them from getting wet.

Some sellers bring their puppies with them while they sell like this one.

While the other two are sleeping despite the wet body and the rain threatening to dampen their fur more.

This part in the middle of the market was really difficult to cross. I was wearing my sneakers and I have been trying my hardest to keep my shoes and feet from being wet.

This owner always brings her puppies to the weekend market because no one can take care of them at home on those days. The puppies were 3 months old and she tried to keep them dry, however one of them were so playful and this is the result.

The sellers and puppy owners are really kind and the animals are also friendly so just ask the owners if you want to pet their pets.

The water was clear and clean, so no one really knows how deep it is unless someone walks in it. I had to go to the food section since I was meeting up with some other friends at that time.

But since the rain was still pouring down hard, I just snapped photos on the pool of water

and the cyclists and motorcyclists drove like the pool didn't matter.

Some people needed to cross the street but there was no other way to cross. It's either to wait for it to get drained, or get rained on and soak the feet into the pool of unknown water. I've been through something like this in the Philippines but much higher almost reaching my knees and I was from the office and couldn't wait to go home. So, I walked for almost 2 kilometers to be able to ride a jeepney or a public transport and a kilometer from that walk was around 200-300 meters of dirty pool of water.

Within 30 minutes after the rain, the pool of water got drained so fast I was surprised. I don't see that happen in my hometown.

For me, rain is a blessing when it pours down in Ho Chi Minh City. Why? Simply because dry season is super long in the city. It doesn't rain much and when the forecasts says it's going to rain, just check the sky. 65% of the year it is dry season in the city. If it rains, just buy a raincoat for 10, 000 or more and still do what you want to do. Rain doesn't stop the Vietnamese to do what they want as well.

I hope your visit to the city will be fun rain or shine.

And oh, this is based on my experience within Phu Nhuan, D3, D1, Tan Binh, Go Vap and An Phu District. I am not sure about the other parts.

Thank you for reading! Please do anticipate for the next food or travel post.

Travel: Saigon Weekend Market

2018-06-22T17:00:00.000+08:00

On weekends, there are a lot of markets available in different districts in the city. However, I'll be focusing on the Weekend Market in District 1 right beside the backpacker's street.

here is my 20, 000 dong 1liter kumquat tea

Few weeks ago, early May on a Saturday, I went there at night. This market is located at 23/9 Park in between Le Loi Street and Pham Ngu Lao Street, where Sense Market or Taka Plaza is located. There is a huge motorcycle parking in the area as well.

You can go there by bus since many buses passes through the park like 04, 28, 19, and others. Those buses are what I personally used to get there.

The Saigon Weekend Market is at the Pham Ngu Lao street side of the park. It is quite a long tented market that varies from Asian food to clothing, souvenirs, arts, and accessories. Although, half of the market is filled with food it is mostly crowded with people on lunch and dinner time.

This market is open from 10AM until 10PM on Saturdays and Sundays.

Although it rained really hard the moment I was there, it did not stop me to enjoy the market.

Due to the rain that just started to pour when I arrived, I ran to Sense Market and waited for a few minutes before running towards the weekend market. When the rain slowed down a bit, I ran quickly also avoiding some pool of water as I went.

View from the Sense Market Entrance

The moment I entered the market, I was welcomed with food. However, if you entered the market from the other end, you'll get welcomed by clothing and other stuffs.

Most of the food are half cooked and ready to get grilled. From vegetables to pork, to chicken, to quail and to seafood as you can see in the photos. Prices vary depending on the food you choose.

Grilled seafood are mostly the most expensive some reaching up to 80, 000 dong per piece.

They got fresh oysters too! Price here is 30, 000 dong per piece.

Here are some fresh spring rolls in display.

And some freshly made Bánh tráng nướng.

The spices are already mixed, these are used for the Vietnamese Pizza or Bánh tráng nướng.

There are also a lot of drink stalls with fruit sodas made with soda water and some syrup or teas.

The big ones, 1 liter, is mostly from 20, 000 to 25, 000 each which is good for 2 people or 1 people.

I suggest you get milk tea and the biggest one. It has a lot of jelly with fun shapes and tapioca pearls in it.

There are different kinds of food as well, not just Vietnamese food. Here they have Japanese food, rolled Sushi

and Nigiri or Pressed Sushi

some Takoyaki

some Korean food for a really affordable prices

Mixed Mediterranean and West Asian food.

More drink choices

The menu for her drink stand

For those who wants to have soup.

Some fried ice cream for a really affordable price with plenty of flavors to choose from.

There was also a guy selling steamed peanuts around.

The half part as stated above were accessories.

Some cute key chains.

some inexpensive jewelries

sunglasses...

watches, purses, and bags

make-ups

clothing

shirts, shorts, pants, or skirts

There are also services offered like this:

or some henna tattoo

More photos of food for your eyes to see

Boiled beef or pork tripes

Fried cha siu bao

roasted quails, ready to grill okras, quail eggs covered in orange batter for grilling

Peppers filled with something I do not know since I didn't buy it.

It's actually easy to buy, no need to learn Vietnamese. Just point the thing and ask for a number. Most of them knows how to say the prices in English or others will just show some cash to explain which bills to use to pay. And if you are too shy to approach or talk or it is too busy, they give out menus and others have photos in it like in the photo above so it is easy to identify.

Thank you so much for reading and please do await for our next post about travel or food.

Travel Time: Lake Gardens Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2018-05-12T12:00:00.000+08:00

Lake Gardens or Perdana Botanical Garden is one the must visit places in the city. It is located near the National Museum of Malaysia and the KL Bird Park. So, you can enjoy the gardens in the morning and the bird park in the afternoon.

The property is so huge, it measures 91.6 hectares, so it is best to use a bicycle or roller skates for faster and cooler access to every place in the garden. However, for us, we decided to just walk around. "It must be a just like another walk in the city." I thought.

So we went there around 9-10 AM and started our journey from the entrance on the way to KL Bird park. There is another entrance right across the bird park and more.
The moment we entered, we turned left and started our journey from there.

There were some monkeys in the entrance. They are not very tamed so I suggest to keep a distance. It is also prohibited to feed any animals in the property especially monkeys who are more prone to get close to humans.

This monkey was just doing his business. When we were taking photos, it suddenly came towards us thinking we might have some food. What we did was just walked away slowly and he stopped and went back to where he was.

Walking along the road, there are many places to take shelter or just to relax, and possibly have a picnic. There are quite a number of man-made waterfalls that would keep every visitors to feel cool on a hot day or from a hot walk.

We had to use Google Map because we didn't have a map of the whole park. We wanted to go to the hibiscus garden from the first waterfall we found.

We decided to relax and sit down on a concrete wall short enough for anyone to sit before we head to the hibiscus garden. Basically, the hibiscus garden starts from the other road behind this photo.

Here is a map along this road.

We didn't really go to the hibiscus garden because it was scorching hot and there was no breeze at all. We didn't have umbrella to protect us from the heat either and the hibiscus garden is as open as the orchid garden. It was almost around noon time so the sun was striking directly from the top.

Honestly, we didn't notice that we were actually walking at the hibiscus garden at first. I just noticed a lot of gumamela(Filipino for Hibiscus) along the road and it didn't look inviting while walking in the street and not knowing that there would be a beautiful picturesque place when entering that building.

I honestly regretted not going inside, so... there will surely be a next visit to KL and I will be sure to look at every nook and cranny of the Lake gardens and other places I still have yet to discover.

photo credits from backpackingmalaysia

So here we are at the Orchid garden. I grew up with my mom loving flowers especially orchids. We had different kinds of hibiscus at home, but she had her attention more into the orchids because of how they are differently grown compared to other flowers we had in the yard.

It was super hot. There were big rocks where you can sit/stand to take photos and I decided to sit down. This shot was done in less than a minute. We tried to take a photo while the sun was hiding in the clouds, but after around 5-10 seconds, the sun was back to torture us with the heat again. The clouds that covered the sun was not big enough.

And while the other is busy taking photos of the garden, I was busy taking photos for my Instagram story as well.

There are more other kinds of orchids in the area. This part of the garden is cooler because of all the shades and some trees.

Cattlianthe Jewel Box

And of course, I took photos of him as my model.

And I forced him to smile, he doesn't really want to be in the photos.

The pathway in the orchid garden.

There were benches in the pathway and we stayed there to cool ourselves down and relax again.

Then we walked on the other side to go back to the road for our next destination, deer park. I saw this familiar plant, Birds-nest fern or in my local language Manaw. My mom also used to grow this plant in the yard so it is very familiar to me. As you can see, just like any other ferns, the plant has a lot of spores that will serve as propagation. However, compared to other ferns, this one doesn't have the feathery texture in the leaf. It has a very shiny frond but wrinkly.

Here are some beautifully aligned spores, or is it just me who find this beautiful?

Then there were tiny violet orchids I got fascinated due to its size.

I don't know the name of this one, I didn't find any labels either.

Cattlianthe Jewel Box

And so we were on our way to deer park or Taman Rusa.

Another waterfall beside the road to chill out or maybe some photoshoot.

And finally, after quite a long walk downhill when we thought we couldn't find it and when we thought we were walking on the wrong road.

Open the image in new tab for a closer look.

Animals were mostly kept away from human's direct interaction. However, this is one curious turkey and a curious human.

There were rabbits too, with adults and young ones separated from each other. However they seem dirty. I don't have any idea whether they get cleaned or anything. I feel bad for the rabbits for being so dirty, but I am in no place to say anything about the park since there are no info on how the animals are being taken care of.

And here are the adult rabbits who were too lazy to move.

Let's also take time to appreciate small things in life like this common ant that hunted for food. It was even amazing that I was able to capture this with our D3300 kit lens.

Then, off to meet the deer family. But because it was super hot, all of them were hiding under shadows. This one deer was hiding on a shed.

While the others were just under this closed foot bridge.

There is a small pavilion to enjoy the breeze, somehow, or just to be under the shade and to sit down from going up and down the stairs.

Here is a tiny river that I could see from the spot I took the photo of the tiny pavilion.

There were many benches under some shades to relax when you get tired from walking around.

After going out of the deer park, we saw this beautiful architecture where some people play some music, skates, and other family activities.

There is also a huge island in the middle of the lake, where we could see some ducks and other birds occupying it.

For me, it is such a beauty and a great respect to a city that keeps their economy strong or is fighting to be a great city and keeping nature intact and alive like this park.

This is like a great reminder to everybody, tourists and locals that they should take care not only of themselves but also with the environment/nature where they are living.

So, going straight ahead, you will find a restroom and the exit.

We found out that there is an electric car you can ride to roam around the park. But we were trying to save money by walking around .

This is the exit/entrance.

This exit is going to the National Museum of Malaysia and across the St. Regis Kuala Lumpur.
There are more things you can do in the park, but that was what we chose to do. The moment we went back to the hotel, it started raining. So we were happy we went back.

Note: Don't forget to bring a lot of water or an energy drink and some towels or umbrella if you decide to walk the whole park.

That's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed reading and looking at the photos.
Please do anticipate for the next food or travel post!

Travel: Ilocos Norte, Philippines

2018-05-04T17:00:00.000+08:00

First, I want to let you know that I traveled there way back August 2015 but did not have the chance of posting it on my blog due to some reasons.

On that travel, I went to Ilocos all by myself. I stayed in Ilocos Norte for a week. Accommodation, transportation, breakfast, and dinner were all prepared by my aunt who is a nun and was assigned to work there at that time. Transportation mainly going around Ilocos Norte (North) or Sur (South). While my airfare was all paid by me and transportation from Ilocos back to Cebu, and other things that I want to spend or buy.

The moment I arrived in the Laoag International Airport, I was informed that there had been a blackout in the whole city a few hours ago and I was lucky that it came back just in time. There was a typhoon a few days ago resulting to flooding in some areas of Ilocos.

Let's have some facts I got in the Internet:

Ilocos Norte covers a total area of 3,467.89 square kilometres (1,338.96 sq mi) occupying the northern tip of the Ilocos Region in Luzon. The province is bordered by Cagayan to the extreme northeast, Apayao to the east, and Abra to the southeast, Ilocos Sur to the southwest, the South China Sea to the west, and the Luzon Strait to the north.

The province itself is big, hot, and it takes a couple of hours to visit the tourist destinations. So it is best to list down where you want to go, group the nearby places, and schedule them on when you want to go.

On the first day, I went to:

Iglesia de Sta. Monica de Sarrat

La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc

Ferdinand Marcos' Mausoleum

Batac for Empanada and Lomi

St. Augustine Parish or Church of Paoay

St. John the Baptist Church

Juan Luna Shrine
Fort Ilocandia Resort

During the whole trip, I was together with a novice (a woman who is still under probation and before taking vows of being a nun) and a seminarian, who is considering the vocation of being a priest after finishing the seminary, I call "Frater" as an instruction.

1st stop: Iglesia de Santa Monica de Sarrat
We went to the known largest church in the whole Ilocos Norte province with a really long middle aisle or nave. I also found out that Irene Marcos, the daughter of then President Marcos had a grand wedding in the said church. But I went there to meet my aunt's friend who is a priest.

360 view of the Santa Monica church

He showed us around and explained the construction details and restoration progress of the 1779-year-old church. Also discussed at how big the river had gone during the typhoon in the past few days. The river is located just right across the church.

One of the pillars in one of the areas of the convent or a house used to cater visitors and guests.

An old well, I believe has been unused for years now.

If I remember correctly, this number states how many pieces of this balcony pillars.

There is a small museum inside the building beside the church where it showcased the history of the church, the items and figures that used to be shown in the altar of the church.

Looking at this in person really scared me since it was so dewy, shiny and almost realistic.

There are hundreds or even thousands of logs used to provide support for the roof for this church.

The front yard

2nd Stop: La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc

Right after that, we set off and went to the farthest destination first, which was the La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc. It was quite far from Sarrat, but it was a nice ride since the province is mainly into agriculture, the air was so fresh and clean and everything else was green.

This is really not the right road to go there, but we decided to take the long route.

On our way there, we stopped by someone selling some sweet sticky snacks called "Tupig". It was sweet, a bit crunchy on the sides, and filling.

Wrapped with banana leaf and cooked on top of a charcoal

Crispy outer part of the tupig snack

Chewy and sweet part

Then we parked right in front of the chapel/church. It looks really nice, amazing, and safe. It was so beautiful and my pictures do not do justice with how beautiful it actually was.

The stations of the cross are at the pathway outside of the church and carved into a huge stone.

There are also beautiful benches by the shore to enjoy the view of the South China Sea. Due to the fact that there was a typhoon, a lot of logs, branches and other dirt were washed to the shore making the shore looked really dirty and unwelcoming.

After relaxing and eating the remaining food that we had, we resumed our journey and head to Batac to the Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center, where his cenotaph and memorabilia are shown for the people to see.

3rd stop: Ferdinand Marcos' Mausoleum

For those who do not know Ferdinand Marcos, he was the president of the Philippines with the longest term from 1917-1989 and ruled the country as a dictator from 1972 to 1981. During his period, the government was infamous for being corrupt, extravagant, and brutal.

The next government, Aquino administration, after his regime denied to bring his body back when he died in Hawaii to the Philippines so the family had put his body inside a refrigerated crypt until they were allowed to bring his body back to the Philippines.
And until before November 18, 2016 his body remained intact inside the refrigerated crypt until the president, Rodrigo Duterte to have his body buried for the "healing" and for the Filipinos to move on from the past.

The building where his crypt is in.

Visitors weren't allowed to take photos of the body and had a meter or 2 away from it.
I was honestly amazed at how I was able to see one of the greatest people in the history of the Philippines. Despite the fact that he was a dictator in the last few years of his regime, I believed that he was a great ruler at that time. My parents praised all the good deeds he had done before the Martial Law. And so I was in awe. Right in front of me was a person I did not have the chance to see because I was not in the world yet.
And I was lucky that at that time, I was able to visit him before he was able to finally rest 6 feet below the ground. Additionally, the room was super cold and dark and the only light are the few lights they have to show the way and his body.

As for now, they have replaced the real body with a wax figure in the mausoleum.

I also enjoyed reading and knowing about his past. Being there and knowing a person's biography is so much better than reading it from a book. I've seen his awards and read about his love life and how smitten he was with her beauty.
What I will always admire at him was his brilliant mind and many more things which you can read it on Wikipedia.

The 11-day romance love story.

More photos in the Mausoleum where history of his life and events and things related to him are shown.

Sticky rice snack available after and some other souvenirs right after you are about to leave.

4th stop: Batac for Empanada and Lomi

Anyway, it was almost lunch time and Frater suggested to eat some Lomi and Ilocano Empanada. The lomi was okay and hot for a hot day in the province.

But the empanada was amazing! It was big and orange. I had to hold it with my two hands and it was good as one meal.

I was astounded at the woman who put raw egg in it and wrapped it in front of me, then fried it. The empanada I've known was totally different with everything I saw at that moment. Yet, I love the taste, the crunchiness of the shell and the delicious filling it had. And talking about it, seeing the picture again makes me crave for it, makes me want to go to Ilocos just to eat it again or try to make it myself which I don't think I can.

5th stop: St. Augustine Parish or Church of Paoay
Then we head to Paoay for the church.
Despite the hot and arid weather of the region, it was very windy. The front part of the edifice was under construction or restoration, we did not know.
But we had the chance to go inside and check out how it looks like. As how big it looks from the outside, it is very spacious and cool inside.

Photo taken from the balcony inside the church where choirs usually sit.

This is the balcony, the flooring isn't very sturdy, there were many cracks and holes on the floor. I don't suggest anyone to try to go up since it is dangerous. Unless if they had changed it.

This is the second pulpit where the priest will be able to give a sermon and everyone can see and hear clearly.

The altar with St. Augustine's figure.

At the side of the church, there is a well maintained garden with a pond a lot of flowers. There are also benches with arches to make people relax properly without worrying from getting burned from the hot sun.

Beside the church, there is a souvenir shop where you can buy many things that will remind you of the province.

6th stop: St. John the Baptist Church

Then, we went to St. John the Baptist Church where the Lady of Miracle or Virgen Milagrosa is situated. The church wasn't as big as the St. Augustine and the St. Monica Churches but it was worth noting that it was as sacred as the others. It was said that you should write a letter or a wish or something of that sort and put it on the foot of the figure. I did that but I don't remember what I wrote back then.

7th stop: Juan Luna Shrine

And we had a bit of stopover at Juan Luna Shrine, where tarpaulins of his art are shown outside the house he used to live. Juan Luna was one of the first recognized Filipino artists when he got a gold medal in the Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts on 1884 together with another Filipino artist.

8th stop: Fort Ilocandia Resort & Casino

Lastly, before going back to where I stayed, we had one last stopover for the day, Fort Ilocandia Resort and Casino is a deluxe accommodation in Ilocos Norte and the only 5-star deluxe hotel in the Northern part of the Philippines. It was said that the resort was built for the guests of the grand wedding of Irene Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos' daughter.

The property was huge, there is enough place to jog around and still be in the hotel premises or if you want to go to the beach, you might have to use a golf cart because it is quite a walk to go there from the hotel building itself. The structure was so nice and in the middle of the building, you can find pictures of Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, and some photos of some film who was there to shoot.

This sunset photo was taken at the beach area of the resort

After enjoying a bit of the view, we went back before it gets to dark in the street.

Thank you for reading! Please anticipate for other food and travel blogs. Especially other parts of this Ilocos trip.

Travel: Lunar New Year in Kuala Lumpur

2018-03-31T12:00:00.000+08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai or Happy Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is mostly celebrated by countries with Chinese influence or as what I know, by Chinese people.

We had a good chance witnessing the celebration of Lunar New Year, the Chinese style, in Malaysia. Almost all establishments has the New Year decorations of temples, Cherry Blossoms, banners, goldfishes, and red lanterns on the street.

One thing that we were most excited was to witness a Lion dance or what they call wǔshī or 舞狮 (simplified Chinese) and 舞獅 (traditional Chinese) since this is mostly present in every Lunar New Year Celebration. Also, one more exciting reason are the way the dancers would stand in one or two columns. It was my first time to watch a Lion dance in person, so, it is one of the things I was looking forward.

Other than the Lion dances, one fun part was that, there were a lot of SALE in a lot of shops! So it is a good time for a shopping spree.

And of course, we didn't forget to eat some Chinese food although it wasn't really what you should eat on that holiday.
The important part is that the whole city is decorated with lanterns and other things related to the Lunar New Year.

Intermark Mall

Pavilion

Lot10 Shopping Center

Sungei Wang

Berjaya Times Square

MyTown Shopping Center

Suria KLCC

Street on the way to Suria

Living in Saigon 101

2018-02-17T12:00:00.000+08:00

Whether you plan to live in Saigon, or anywhere in Vietnam, for one month or more, it is best to be prepared or you'll later get regrets like us.
We started living here almost a year ago for personal reasons. On the first few months of living here, we spent quite a sum of money. We visited restaurants, bought some sweets and snacks for when we are at home, in short, we bought everything we thought was cheap and good. What we didn't know is that it can be cheaper than that.

Here are lists of living expenses we are able to keep track

1. Rent a Condo unit/Apartment Room/House
Whether you want to rent any of the three things above, it is important to find out the average costs of renting those places. An apartment room can be as small as 18-24 square meter with a toilet for a rental cost of 3M VND average. While a Condo unit can be from 6-7M furnished and without a proper kitchen for 1 bedroom that can accommodate 2 people, and 8M VND furnished and higher for one with a proper kitchen and 2 beds. Condo unit prices can also differ in every district. A house can be more expensive to rent as most houses here in the city have 3 and more floors. Remember that the cost listed is a monthly payable. This does not include payment for water and electricity yet. There might also be some charges that is not part of the unit you are renting, like parking fee, security, maintenance, cleaning, etc.

Calvin's height is 1.8m

Since we are living in a family house, we are able to save up money instead of paying monthly rent especially when the district is closer to District 1, rent can go higher and electricity charges can be higher as well.

2. Electricity and Water
Usage of the air conditioning system might be something really important for you especially when the weather in Ho Chi Minh is 80% sunny, hot, and humid. However, using an air conditioning system would slowly create a hole in the pocket. Using it for almost 24 hours a day in 18-25 degrees would boost the electricity charge to 1M VND or higher. It is actually possible to pay half the amount and still use the air conditioning system. How? By turning it on at night when we are about to sleep, and turning it off in the morning when we wake up. During the day, when we stay at home and it is hot, we use a stand/desk fan to keep us cool. Just keep tabs that all switches are off when on standby. It's the same with water, we pay 50-60K VND a month by not wasting water.

3. Drinking Water
As for this, we spend 100K VND for 5 20L-Containers with free delivery and we can last long for a month with that much.
There will be a phone number stuck in the water container so if you need a new one, you can just contact them.
If they can't speak English, you will have to prepare a google translate before calling their number and practice how to say it, send a translated Vietnamese message to their number, or ask a Vietnamese neighbor to call for you.

4. Groceries
We have a total budget of 2M VND good for 1 month groceries. This includes, around 15kgs of meat (pork, chicken, fish), a few kilograms of vegetables, 5L cooking oil, sauces, laundry detergent, toiletries, and some snacks. We do take note of our budget every month to track our spending and we rarely go over budget. Buying in supermarkets may be cheaper than local markets, some local markets have the same prices as when you buy in the supermarkets, also, you get points if you are a member in a supermarket which you can use the points to buy anything.

Inside part of a local market

The outside part of the local market

Here is an example of our Grocery list, this one is for the month of October

Open image to new tab to see the details up close

5. Daily Budget
Our daily budget is 100K VND, that is for us. It can go as high as 200K VND for 2 people and that is enough. If you are working, you can save money by cooking meals and bringing some lunch boxes to work. It will cost more if you go out to eat. One regular size of coffee or other drinks can cost 40-50K if you buy it in a coffee shop/house. But if you bring your own water or water bottle and refill the bottle in your workplace, you can save money for buying other beverages. Food can also be more expensive for foreigners who don't trust in eating at stalls by the street prepared by locals. Well, I don't mind and I love eating local food. I also prefer to eat at home than outside. So we get to save money.
The thing is we don't have a scooter/motorcycle/car to go around the town, so this budget is usually spent to Uber/Grab/Bus fares and we can still save money at the end of the day because of the promos they offer except for busses.

6. Gas
If you have a kitchen in your unit, one gas can costs 360K VND and will last for 3 months even with cooking everyday. It includes free delivery and installment.

The same with the drinking water, this also has a contact number stuck into it. But I couldn't take a photo or I had to uninstall it.

In total, the costs breakdown will be like this:

Hotel: Villa Sovanna Boutique Hotel

2018-02-10T18:50:00.001+08:00

After a few hours of traveling by bus to Phnom Penh, it was finally time for us to go to our hotel.

We stayed at a small, quiet, more private kind of hotel this time. It's in the middle of the city but the serenity feels like you are away from the hustle and bustle.

Photo credits to Villa Sovanna

We immediately get a tuktuk driver just right at the bus station and paid $5 for a distance that wasn't that long. But we learned it a little late.

We were given some welcome drinks when we arrived and was checked in around 2pm exactly. The hotel was quiet, we didn't see other guests and only the hotel staffs.

The hotel is not that high so they do not offer elevators which we did not mind. The staff brought out luggage to our room and we were welcomed to our suite with some beautiful treats for us.

Calvin had informed them of something and asked for a humble request yet they presented to us such a thoughtful gifts of flowers, red wine, and some fruits. We stayed there for around four (4) nights.

On the first day, we asked them about the processing of our visa back to Vietnam and they quickly got back to us by saying that someone will pick up our passports the next day. The processing took one day even though we didn't pay for fast processing. So the next day, we got our visas.

On the second day, since we had free breakfast included on our stay, I asked the staff on how it goes. They do not do buffet which was nice since everything are freshly made. We got a menu where we had to check whether we want a Western or Asian breakfast, and the choosing on the details.

We wanted croissant but it was not available on that day, so we only got normal sliced bread, bacon, egg, and some juice or other hot drinks. A few minutes after breakfast, the agent came and helped us process our visa for Vietnam.

On this day, we toured around uptown area of Phnom Penh.
What I will always remember about this hotel is their thoughtfulness. On the third day, when I went down to ask for the menu, their staff immediately informed me that they have croissant available, so we got it together with a chocolate drink.

Watermelon and White Fleshed Dragon Fruit

In the afternoon, after our DIY day tour, we had a relaxation time in their pool. They had a buy 1 take 1 cocktails available for a price of $3 for one. So we ordered 2 and had free 2 cocktails as well. Unfortunately, I only have photos of the three drinks that we got. It was so quiet that we stayed in the pool from before sunset until evening.

The T shaped Pool and Passion Fruit Martini

These are Piña colada and Lime Martini
We also had our breakfast delivered to our room and had it in the balcony.

We had an amazing experience in the hotel. Although at the time there was a construction going on right beside the hotel, it was still peaceful, quiet, and serene. Really good for a relaxing vacation.

By the way, this is not a paid promotion or that sort, we just want to review the hotels we've been to and would like to share the experience. So far this is the hotel we love best in Phnom Penh compared to the other two we've stayed which will be published soon.
Additionally, all photos were taken by a phone camera.

For more info about their hotel, you can find them through Facebook, TripAdvisor, Agoda, Hotels.com, and their own website.

Thank you so much for reading! Do anticipate for our next food or travel related posts!

Food: La Brasserie Buffet Restaurant

2018-02-04T00:16:00.001+08:00

Located at 235 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Nguyễn Cư Trinh, 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Hồ Chí Minh at Hotel Nikko Saigon

Calvin and I were given the chance to visit this luxurious buffet because his mother had given it for us as our anniversary gift. Now, to make sure that we have a table, we head on to their website which you can visit through this link and booked here. By the way, this is not in any way a promotion or advertising. We just want to share our experience and to help you in cases you want to experience it as well.

So we also noted in our booking that we are reserving a table to celebrate our anniversary. We had it reserved on a Sunday night. We arrived, walked up straight to the stairs which you can find immediately when you go inside the hotel. Told the staff of our reservation name and they showed us our table.

After a few minutes, another staff asked for what wine we would like and served us both with white wine. Then another staff appeared and asked if we would like to order some lobsters.

By the way, as this is a buffet restaurant, everything is eat all you can and drink all you can. Main reason why we went there was because of the buffet lobster.

There are 9 flavoring for lobsters. As far as I can recall there is tamarind sauce, black pepper sauce, Singaporean chili sauce, peanuts, passion sauce, and cheese.

Cheese

Garlic and Butter

Black Pepper

Tamarind sauce

Singaporean Chilli

Peanuts

Passion Fruit

So it only took 5 minutes for each order of the lobster to be ready and served on the table. While waiting, we took other dishes and enjoyed our time with some live trio of a cello, violin, and piano.

There were three kinds of oysters The staff will open up the oysters you choose to eat.

I had two pieces of oysters in each kind and I love the iron taste, the taste of the sea making me feel like I was right in front of the beach, and it's freshness especially with their specially prepared flavored salt and lime together.

The next table had some smoked salmon and I took only two pieces. It tasted so nice, the aroma of the smoke was so appetizing, I wanted to eat more, but I had to keep my stomach ready for the lobsters.

Some mini burgers and mini sandwiches in pretzel bread and other small salad.

This female staff prepares some fresh spring rolls or steamed buns.

Cheese and crackers area for those who loves cheese!

Steamed shrimps with some sauce

The sashimi area. Just ask the Japanese chef by pointing on which seafood you want to eat raw. There's a variety of salmon, tuna, crab meat, octopus, and other fishes.

You can also have unlimited crabs!

If you want some hotpot, just choose which one you would love to have.

Ask the chef for a freshly cooked little neck clams. The chef puts on white wine to make it more savory.

Before

And though it is a buffet restaurant, be amused at the plating. Normally, buffet restaurants don't have plating but in this one, they have it and I respect their art and hard work.

Beside the clams, another chef prepares for the beef with some red wine and another beautiful plating. It feels like I am eating on a fine dining restaurant but more of a self-service.

The photo below are lamb and roasted beef.

And of course, we have the dessert. The cake they gave us was not enough. We actually had more than the photo here and we weren't able to take a photo of the dessert table but let us show you some of the desserts they have available.

Cheesecake with some fruits on top, raspberry shortcake, pandan cake, strawberry shortcake, and another chunk of sponge cheesecake. And I was so happy to see halo-halo here which is almost the same as che which is a Vietnamese dessert. However they are different on the terms of which ice to use. I accidentally had the wrong ice, so I couldn't take a photo and was disappointed at first. I took all the ice and went back to ask for shaved ice.

In which this male staff helped me prepare it. For those who aren't familiar with the halo-halo dessert, you have to first get the fruits. These are the essential fruits of halo-halo (not all the fruits on the table): jelly, coconut, jackfruit, mango, ube jam or purple yam jam, red beans (not kidney, not mongo beans), banana, sweet corn, and no dried fruit. I accidentally put a dried fruit inside, it was bad. I thought it was nata de coco or some tapioca pearls but it wasn't. Because in halo-halo, you can put tapioca pearls or nata de coco for added texture and fun.
After putting all the fruits or main ingredients, ask for the staff to put some shaved ice on top of the fruits this is to make sure you can put all the ingredients you want than putting the shaved ice first and followed by the fruit ingredients. Then ask for some evaporated milk or fresh milk, then some condensed milk to make it sweeter if you like it sweeter.
Although the section is a halo-halo section, it can also be a Vietnamese Che section because they have available crushed ice and other ingredients that are only for the Che and not halo halo.

And we weren't able to try to eat the dessert on a stick and we are still wondering what it was.

We ended up staying for almost 3-4 hours, enjoying our bottomless white wine, unlimited food, and beautiful music altogether. Others say it is noisy, but I think it depends on the occasion or the day, when we went there it was noisy, but not that noisy that we don't hear each other nor the music. We could hear each other even if we whisper and the music was nice. It is also because there are groups of people eating than couples, so it sometimes end up being noisy. However, we didn't mind it. The experience was nice. The staff were kind and very attentive to our needs, like refilling our water and wine glasses, asking if we want to order another kind of lobster and such.

It was a great experience, it was my first time to eat lobsters and it was splendid! If you have any questions and queries about our experience or some suggestions, please feel free to write a comment below!

The cost per person was around $52.84 or a bit more.

Thank you for reading and please do anticipate for our food or travel post!

2 Days Itinerary for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2018-01-27T12:00:00.000+08:00

Whether you are planning to stay in Kuala Lumpur for a while to go to another destination or to only visit the Capital city, there are many things to do and enjoy in the city. So let me share to you a timeline of activities!

Honestly speaking, we were there for 6 days and had a relaxing day by only doing one main activity a day. There were other activities that we had done as well but I don't think it matters because those were for personal reasons, like visiting a Filipino restaurant which is mine, visiting a barber for Calvin, checking out groceries and malls window shopping and just walking around and relaxing at the hotel swimming, taking photos and watching TV.

Day 1

7:30 - 8:30 AM : Breakfast in a hotel or a restaurant of your choice

8:30 - 12:00 PM: Batu Caves. This includes the train time going there, sightseeing, and back.

12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunch at Central Market Pasar Seni or Chinatown

1:00 - 3:00 PM: Souvenir Shopping at Central Market or Chinatown

4:00 - 6:30 PM: Experience Aquaria KLCC

6:30 - 7:00 PM: Take photos of Petronas Towers which is just near Aquaria. You can also go up to the tower to look at the sunset that will kiss the city. Sunset is at 7:00 PM.

7:00 - 9:00 PM: Dinner at Jalan Alor Street

Day 2

7:30 - 8:30 AM: Breakfast in a hotel or a restaurant of your choice

8:30 - 2:00 PM: Experience bird feeding, walking with birds, and watch a bird show at KL Bird Park

2:00 - 3:00 PM: Late Lunch at Central Market, Lot 10, or Sungei Wang Food Center

4:00 - 6:00 PM: Enjoy thrilling rides in an indoor amusement park at Berjaya Times Square

7:00 - 10:00 PM: Walk around while eating or have dinner at Pasar Malam Taman Connaught or other night markets.

Of course you can tweak the itinerary depending on how you like it and to fit your schedule.

Food Trip: Pasar Malam, Taman Connaught

2018-01-20T19:30:00.000+08:00

One of the longest night market in Malaysia. If you are from the middle part of the city which is Bukit Bintang, it will only take 22-30 minutes to go there by car.

A Wednesday Night Market in Kuala Lumpur.

As stated, it is only available on Wednesdays and be sure to be in Kuala Lumpur on a Wedsnesday to enjoy this!

It is best to start from the McDonald's area and walk your way to the end. Just like the tips in Jalan Alor to be a wise customer since there are more than one seller selling the same thing. Also, there are plenty of goods from food to other items.

Here are some photos of the things we bought together with the prices.

The cakes are really fluffy, not that very sweet, and delicious. What is more fun, you can taste them before buying! I love free tasting~

There are varieties of sausages in a skewer. We couldn't resist not taking one!

We got two different kinds of sausages to enjoy together.

And the famous Chopo chicken. Well, I am not sure if it is really famous, but Calvin has been saying that he wants to eat it even before we left for Malaysia.

I now agree why he wanted to try it. It tastes really great! Very nice to eat while walking, the spices were nice and crispy and crunchy at the same time! Love it!

And one thing I can't stop myself is to eat some oysters when I see them! Especially when I see the word "cheese" with it.

I can't suppress my love for oysters. It costs RM 12 for three pieces with different flavors each. It was expensive but oh well, seafood is seafood and it is love.

They also sell huge squids, scallops, and other shellfish.

I am eating my chopo chicken while waiting for the oysters.

There are seating areas too for food that you need to eat on a table.

We got, 1 cheese and 2 spicy oysters.

After eating or during eating, we got so thirsty and we found this seller! Fresh juice puree for such a good price! We got three bottles of course!

As I said, there are also other sellers... they sell various things like:

Clothing for men, women, and even underwear.

Make up, face care, body care, and other accessories for both men and women.

Neck pillow, body pillow, towels and others.

Even ceramic bowls

Be careful when walking as it normally gets really crowded.

Learn to just be agile, quick, and observant. Some people are just standing in the middle of the road apparently waiting for their order so don't fall in line expecting you can get out of the crowd. Be observant enough to see how you can get away from the crowd and go to the store you want to go.

Then here comes another journey of our food. We got these sticky desserts for our snacks in the hotel.

We got some cassava cakes from here and the pink sticky snack for RM 2 / pack.

We also got some Shumai to eat as we were so curious about it. The size was bigger than I usually had and with so many varieties for such an affordable price of RM 6 for 5 pieces assorted Shumai. The seller was so kind to help me as well when I was doing the purchase and choosing the ones I wanted. Calvin was busy taking the photos this time.

You might not see it, but here are the Shumai we got.

If hotpot is what you fancy, you can get it from this truck seller. We didn't get one as we already had quite a lot of food.

I am not sure what this is called. We just happen to walk past by while so many people are walking.

There are normal tea if you prefer than the fruit juices.

More fried and grilled food!

I am not so sure what he was preparing in this last photo but it looked delicious. We didn't get to eat it though since we were looking forward to other food we could eat in the market.

Here is a liquidation of all the costs we (2pax) had when we went there:

Since we were staying at a hotel in Bangsar South, we had to go all the way from there to Taman Connaught. It was quite traffic as we left a little late which was during the rush hour.

I hope you find this helpful and enjoyed this post. Do share if you have any experiences in going to this market or other night markets in Malaysia.

Please anticipate for the next food or travel related post! Thank you for reading!

Travel Time: Central Market & Chinatown, KL, Malaysia

2018-01-12T19:00:00.000+08:00

Whether you are a tourist or a traveler, we all want something to remind us of our travels or a place to dine for something inexpensive or affordable at the least.

Central market is the way to go, well, I'm pretty sure you've known about it already. The place has a lot of souvenir items whether personalized or not. Also, the price is really within the budget range if you ask me. So, one place we did visit on the first few days is this place.

Most people would normally visit souvenir shops on the last day of the trip/travel, but for us, we normally visit those places on the first day of when we touchdown the place. Why? Because we will be able to list down the prices and take note of those, when we go to other shops, we can check if it is cheaper to buy it in the souvenir shops or in the place where we currently look at it.

Another point to mention is that, because we can save money for what we want to buy. Taking note of the prices and items available. We save money and we can spend however we want since we already put aside a certain amount of money for it.

The central market itself is quite big, with 2 floors and stores and stalls inside and outside of it.

From the top 2nd floor going down

Outside the central market where you can find a lot of artworks for sale.

Beautifully made and colorful scented soaps.

What makes it most memorable for me is the food court/center area. We went there to eat and they got really affordable and delicious food.

Calvin and I roamed the whole area first to see prices and the different food available before choosing what we want to eat. We ended up buying on the first store where we started walking. The food wasn't hot because most of it are already prepared. The soup however was hot enough.

We enjoyed our meal before we proceeded to Chinatown which is just a few minutes walk away.

Chinatown, as it speaks, has a lot of goods made in China and everything else Chinese. There are also food stalls to get some snacks. This area is one of the places in KLCC that is busy every day, every hour, every minute! You can also haggle for prices!

Thank you for reading! Please anticipate for the next food or travel post.

Check out the 5 best chalets to stay in Malaysia as well:

Photo by Bamboo Hill Tioman

Travel Time: KL Bird Park, Malaysia

2018-01-05T18:00:00.000+08:00

Milky Stork or Mycteria cinerea

There are a lot of must visit places in Kuala Lumpur itself and one place that everyone should stop by is at KL Bird Park. The world's largest free walk-in aviary! That is so right! Well, I didn't do any research before going there and just found out when I got there. It was indeed big. With a land area of 20.9 acre and thousands of birds!

You can check more facts in Wikipedia.

The place is on a hill and I advise you to better ride a taxi if you are not used to walking uphill. It will be a lot of walk before going there and a lot more walk inside. So it is best to ride instead, also there are many promos for transportation apps that we can use - well when we are lucky.

The entrance ticket for one adult is 67 RM while for children it is 45 RM. Check their website here for more details.

Visitors aren't allowed to bring food or drinks in certain areas. There is a small store that sells food and drinks inside when you want some snacks to bite on.

They provide a map and a paper wristband to make sure that visitors can just walk around without a tourist guide.

Open image in new tab to zoom in and out or print it out. This photo is from the KL Bird Park website.

The first thing we saw were small birds with their tree houses.

Long Tailed Parakeet or Psittacula longicauda

Calvin and the Pacific Reef Egret or Egretta sacra

Visitors aren't allowed to touch the birds. They aren't that tame enough, well except when you have food for them. We are also not allowed to give them any kind of food. There are specific food we are allowed to feed for them.

As we walked around the area, we saw a lot of birds just walking together freely.

Peacocks everywhere, birds everywhere whether big or small. When we went near the restaurant, there was a carp pond and a fish and bird feed vending machine. We took one for just 2 RM and feed the fishes. The fishes seemed to be so smart, when people get close to the pond, they know we have food and get themselves ready to take the food.

There are hornbills around the pond.

There is another caged area after that, with a bigger cage for lories and loriekeets where you can enjoy feeding them.

There are bird feeding scheduled from 10 AM until 5 PM and other birds only on certain times.

On our way to the bird show, we passed behind a man made waterfall.

While there is a bird show which starts at 1:30 PM. At 15 minutes before the schedule, we sat down to take the best seat which was the best idea ever.

Here are some photos of the bird show.

When we finished the bird show, we continued our stroll and we end up seeing ostriches, emus, and the life cycle of birds and more info about birds and the breeding area where you see some chicks. We expected to see more but we only saw an air conditioned room full of bird information.

We also fed the ostriches and emus with the food available, which are leaves with stems. That day we learned that ostriches can be picky at times and I don't understand what they really want to eat. And the emus are quite competitive with food. One of them just wants to eat everything we give.

Then we tried to feed the free flying birds with the food that we had from the fish pond remembering that it stated as "bird and fish food". Apparently, it was indeed a bird food but the ones who eats are the white small birds.

Australian White Ibis or Threskiornis molucca

I tried feeding the peacock too but I only got one chance. We walked around more and it was funny that the small white birds kept following Calvin and one of it even flew on his shoulders.

He was both surprised and scared but we didn't shoo the bird away, instead he kept giving food on that bird because he was scared it will bit him or something.

Then, while we were resting on the feeding area, we saw a male peacock showing his tails. Well, we already saw him at first but I first thought that he was scared and was trying to scare us. At that time when we were resting, I realized and remembered what I read long ago that male peacocks are doing that to show off to the female peacocks. However, at some points, they also show their tails to other birds or us?

Green Peafowl or Pavo muticus

While waiting and resting there with less people, we noticed a staff getting a huge bird from a cage and pulling it to go out. I was looking at it intensely curious and indeed curiosity kills the cat. The staff called me, he showed me to hold the beak of the bird and I can touch the bird as much as I can. In which I did.

American White Pelican or Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

I touched it and held its beak hard enough for it not to go away and bite me. The neck part was really soft to the touch, softer than a kitten's fur or a dog's fur. The feathers were so light and soft. Calvin had a touch to and we let it go since the staff said to just let go of the bird. It was an amazing experience. We got tired from walking and we were able to touch that creature.

More photos of birds!

Barn owl or Tyto alba and Barred Eagle Owl or Bubu sumatranus

Mandarin duck or Aix galericulata

Ostrich or Struthio camelus

We spent almost 4 hours in the area itself walking around, looking at the beauty of the different birds. Such a spectacle and a wonderful memory for both Calvin and me to see.

Thank you for reading! Please anticipate for the next food or travel post!

Travel Time: Aquaria KLCC, Malaysia

2017-12-31T16:38:00.000+08:00

On 2014, Aquaria KLCC was known as the 4th ranked aquarium in the TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards for aquariums to visit in Asia.

As great as it sounds, it was also my first time to visit an aquarium that houses a lot of animals not only seawater species, but also freshwater species, and even reptiles and some amphibians.

Visitors are allowed to touch some species right from the entrance.

First, we bought some tickets online which seems to be cheaper than buying it directly from there. Or basically because it is more convenient just in case the line gets really long. On the ticket, there are details on how to get to the location.

For us, since we were staying at Bangsar South, we had to take two (2) MRT Tickets. One from KL Gateway and getting off to KL Sentral, and another train from the same station to Imbi. There was a reason why we went to Imbi first.

From Imbi station, we walked towards Aquaria KLCC.

Yes, it was a really long walk. But the catch there was that, we were able to walk through a long air conditioned walkway which was less hassle and safer than walking in the street an crossing.

Photo grabbed from hotels.com

And where the walkway ends, is where Aquaria is located, and walking a bit farther is where the Petronas Towers are located.

When we arrived, we just followed a huge wallpaper with the aquaria pictures in it and at the entrance, some staffs were waiting. The entrance was dark and dim due to their lighting. Before going to the cashier, a photographer asked us to stay in a spot to be taken photos of.

Then, we handed our printed tickets to the cashier. They gave us a paper bracelet as proof of buying.

The first thing we saw were piranhas.

And following the route, was an open aquarium created like a part of the sea where you can touch the sea creatures and take note that we could only touch them with two fingers.

Sea Cucumber

Horseshoe crab

There is a tap where you can wash your fingers or hands and dry them up with a towel they provide.
As we followed the route, we get to see more species on separate aquariums mostly attached to a wall with their details beside them.

If you look closely, you can see the snake camouflaging on the leaves.

There are deep sea water creatures too and in their aquarium, the glass has some moist and is as cold as ice.

You can also see the otters, though they were sleeping when we were there.

Live corals dancing with the swimming fishes.

Here comes freshwater fishes. The aquarium was so fun because there was a fake lightning with a thunder sound so it felt realistic as if it was raining and since we could only see the roots and the fishes, we felt like we were walking/swimming together with them.

Right after the freshwater fish and other fishes in an open aquarium, we went down and took another photo before going to the tunnel.

Lined up together with other people and enjoyed standing, watching, taking photos of the fishes, stingray, and the diver who seemed to be cleaning the aquarium.

This one seemed to look like one of those sharks straight out of a movie.

Right outside the tunnel, we could also find and enjoy the sea turtle, eel, and other fishes in a wider and taller wall.

There are smaller aquariums where small fishes reside and some jellyfishes with beautiful lights to enhance their elegance.

You can see a shrimp right below the fish, it was trying to outsmart the fish. It took a while for the fish to eat it.

The breeding of seahorses.

There was also a huge fossilized teeth, not sure whether they were real or not because we didn't dare touch them. But I think they aren't real, maybe.

Once, we stepped on the escalator after taking photos with the fossilized teeth, we ended up in the souvenirs area and the exit. Where we could get the photos taken by them with the aquarium background and other effects.

We didn't have enough money to buy those, not even a memento, and just left. It was a lot of fun indeed. Just be sure to get used to standing a lot since there weren't enough seating space to relax, rather you wouldn't even want to relax just to enjoy each aquarium before other people crowds on it.

Also, as I stated in the beginning of the blog, there are reptiles and amphibians as well. You can even find a frog's life cycle.

Thank you for reading and please do anticipate our next food or travel post.
Happy New Year to you from the two of us!

2017 Liebster Award Nomination

2017-12-27T17:43:00.000+08:00

A wonderful holiday season has come and thus a lot of thanks and gratitude is what I want to send to Tracey of Ask Tee Travel for nominating me for the Liebster Award 2017. I started blogging on 2012 but I had a hiatus and just came back into active blogging around 2-3 years ago. However, this is my first time to hear about the this award.

Tracey and I get to know each other in a Facebook group where travelers meet through social media. I was enticed by her blogs and enjoy checking it out once in a while to read about her travels and other tips and tricks in traveling. As a fellow traveler, it is important to be informed well and have the right amount of knowledge before traveling to other places to keep myself and others safe, and of course to enjoy and learn from each other via culture, food, and behavior.

By the way this award is for new bloggers to get discovered, recognized, and to be welcomed in the blogging world. How bloggers are awarded is via other bloggers nominated by other bloggers. It is kind of a networking - connecting thing that sounded fishy at first but it makes sense. Why? Because it's like making friends through the internet, gaining connection by knowing other bloggers. It's another way of linking each other in this vast world digitally like how we try to approach and befriend people personally. And whoever created this idea is awesome and I thank him/her for doing this.

In this award as well, we (bloggers) are supposed to share our loved or favorite blog. As the word "liebster" which means beloved or dearest in Deutsch or German language. Honestly, I really cannot pinpoint just one blog that I love, because my interest varies from one to another. However since I have to put one on top, I would be putting Peter Elbert Go of Obotology, a traveler himself.

I first found his blog on a local Travel Group when he shared his adventures in the place I was about to go. I asked him questions and he was so willing to answer them and provide me as much information as needed other than the ones from the blog. Thus it was his blogs that I read a lot to learn when traveling to Laguna by myself. It had the information I needed when traveling all by myself on a quiet place. It was also his blog that I read to learn about coming here to Vietnam. His blogs are so informative that I just could not stop jotting down notes and screenshots just to make sure I have access on the information he shared.

10 Random facts about myself:

I was born in Cebu City, Philippines 26 years ago, a natural born Filipino citizen.
My first International trip is this year and so far I have only been to 4 countries, hoping and anticipating for more countries in the future. I started in this age, but it is neither late nor early. We have our own timeline, so are you. This is my timeline, so don't worry about traveling early or not.
The first time I traveled via plane was on 2014 to visit an aunt. I loved the flight, the rush, and the feeling of flying.
I love eating different cuisines but most especially Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Filipino.
I do not follow the trend. I have my own fashion trend that I follow and it keeps me from spending money on clothes.
I love animals, I had 2 cats, a dog, a duck, a rabbit, and some fishes who are now in heaven and I currently have another dog and cat.
I love nature, adventure, more nature, architecture, and more nature. Because of this, I like going to waterfalls, hiking mountains, enjoying old structures and such when traveling.
My motto is "If there's a will, there's a way" or rather 'if there's a wheel, there's a way'.
I have to Bachelor's Degree, BS Accounting Technology, and BS Human Resources Development & Management. I'm proud of graduating in both, so I'm sharing it to the whole world.
I love chocolate, chocolate truffles. Because life is like a box of chocolates, you'll never know what you're gonna get. By Forrest Gump.

Passing the baton

Now that I have been nominated, I am giving others a chance to be recognized and discovered. Hence, I am listing down here my nominees:

Felline of Felline Roda

Lionel of Wanderhow

Margherita of Outside Living Travel

Crystal of Sunday Mornings

Raj of Wander to Capture

Arti of Escape Writers

Srivatsan of Travel Tales by Srivatsan

Lucy of Lucy's Big Adventure

I had a great time checking out all of your blogs! Now, when you decide on accepting the nomination, you will need to visit here to read the rules and what you are going to do. I will be having questions for you to answer on your post so get yourself prepared to answer.

Here are my questions for you:

What encouraged your decision to travel?
What is the most unforgettable experience you have on your life? Why?
If you have the ability to turn back or fast forward time, which one will it be and why do you choose it?
You are given the chance to revive a life, who or which one will it be and why?
Who is the most influential person in your life?
Where would you love to live your whole life if you get the chance to do so?
When do you think you would stop traveling?
How would you spend an ideal day?
Why are you blogging?
A dish you would anticipate to eat whenever you travel.
If you have to give up something, what will it be and why?

I am looking forward to read your answers and other details on your posts.

Questions I got from Tracey:

What is your favorite international cuisine?

I love Chinese food. The moment I tasted the roast duck I had in Malaysia, my preference had changed into Chinese food. I also realized that I enjoy bao, noodles, and fried rice which all came from that cuisine.

When did you launch your website (approx.)?

Approximately around August 2012 and re-launched it 2-3 years ago with a newer address.

Who is your everyday hero?

My everyday hero would be the people working behind everything big and wonderful. The garbage collector, the cleaners, the camera crew, construction workers, and the street vendors. It always remind me of being humble and that beautiful things happen because of all the hard work done by these people.

Where would you love to retire?

I would love to retire on the mountain where my grandmother's sister lives. It is on a mountain which gives a cool wind breeze, would keep me exercising when I go up and down the slope and overlooking the horizon and the other islands. Going down, the shore is white and the sea is blue and clear. Where monkeys live just right the next mountain.

Which place would you prefer on a weekend, inland or along the coast/beach?

I would say in between. I would love to hike on a mountain, or go river rafting, or chasing waterfalls. Don't get me wrong, I love the beach so much, but the beach is at its best when I am very tired at work or abstaining on going there for a few months.

If you could pick one vegetable (or fruit) you had to eat for every meal, which would you choose?

I want to eat dragon fruit every meal. I first tasted it when I was in Ilocos and I loved it. It is great for tropical countries, and I would still enjoy it even when I'm on a 4-seasoned country. It is like a watermelon, juicy and watery but I can eat the seeds and all I got to do is slice it up, bite on it, swallow, and throw the peel off.

Favorite country that you have visited?

So far, I don't have as many countries I have visited in, and I am trying not to be biased but I really love my home country, Philippines. The blue and crystal clear seas, white shores, friendly and hospitable people, easy communication whether in English or Filipino, and good food. Also, there are many natural attractions which I love the best.

Best day of your life thus far?

Best day of my life would be when my Fiancé, Calvin, proposed to me on my birthday when we were in El Nido. It was my first time to elope, my first time to celebrate my birthday in another island, without my parents and friends, but just the two of us. It was raining in the morning, but then it stopped and the sky gave is the chance to go kayaking from one island to another totally having an adventure blast the whole day.

What skill have you learnt to do since you have become a blogger?

I became a good food photographer, is what I believe. Photography is the skill I learned when I became a blogger. Writing has been one of my hobbies since I was 10-11 years old but I have not used a proper camera or at least a point and shoot camera until I started here which was on 2012.

Apart from family, friends – what is the one thing you miss the most when traveling?

I miss my dog and the cat most when I travel. Because they are like my siblings to me. They are such a wonderful part of my life that I want to be with them wherever I go.

What is your dream (definition for yourself) for your blog adventure?

I want to inspire others. I am an ordinary person with a slower timeline than most people. I stayed in the university for 6 years before I finished it; I started blogging when I was already 21 years old; I just seriously started photography on the 4th quarter of this year; and I do not have enough savings nor money to travel around the world. But I can because I want to. I want people to see their own possibilities when they read my blog. I want to share to others that they can do what they want to do as long as they keep themselves on track with it. I want to remind others that even when they think their opportunity has knocked and they weren't able to open the door at that time, that they can still invite their opportunity by building another door.

Thank you so much for this chance and amazing opportunity to be able to share my thoughts not only on travel but in a lot of things, especially the questions from Tracey of Ask Tee Travel. I am very grateful for everyone who made this happen as well.

Check out my homepage for more posts about my travel. Thank you for reading and do anticipate for my other posts!

Batu Caves, Malaysia

2017-12-22T19:00:00.000+08:00

A historical, religious site to visit even for non-Hindus. According to Wikipedia the cave is around 400 million years old. As a self-proclaimed nature enthusiast and a person who loves ancient things and archaeology, it is one of the places I loved to visit.

I believe this photo sums up the whole experience in Batu Caves

Let's start out journey on how to get to Batu Caves. First, it is located at Gombak, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia. By the way, just a fun trivia, "batu" in my Bisaya dialect or in the Filipino language means "rock" or "stone" although it is spelled as "bato" and apparently it has the same translation in the Malay language.

Now, you have to find your way to KL Sentral. There are timetables of the trip that you can find before buying a ticket. When you are staying for 2 days or more, check the time on the first day or just be in the station before 6:45 AM, the first train, if you want to be there early. During off peak hours, the frequency of the train will be 20-40 minutes or longer. During our trip, we had to wait longer and the train was late for 2-5 minutes. Just be patient enough and relax. If you don't get to ride on the train and the next train will still be more than 30 minutes or so, just go and chill out in the mall just next to the station.

The one-way train ticket for one person was RM 2.60. It takes 30 minutes to get to Batu Caves from KL Sentral. We went there on a Sunday and forgot it was a weekend, didn't expect there will be a lot of people. But we only found out until we arrived there, but it didn't hurt that much. The only crowded place was when you get off the train and about to go out of the station.

entrance from the main road

First thing that would greet you are vendors that are selling memorabilia, food and drinks, and others for worship or praying.

There is a small zoo before you get to the entrance of the caves.

Please be informed that when it is sunny or partly cloudy, it is going to be really hot. So bring an umbrella or hat to protect yourself from the heat and water. We had to use handkerchief since we didn't have any hat or umbrella with us.

If you want some cold drinks or some coconut water, you can just buy it from the stores nearby for an affordable price.

There is no fee to get into the cave. There are regulations in going inside the cave however.

You can still rent some skirt to cover your legs as it is not allowed to wear shorts inside.

Once you start walking up the stairs, take your time and enjoy. Be careful when you bring some food because there are monkeys everywhere and they are very vigilant and will try their best to steal your food.

It is very steep and the stairs has just a few gaps in it so best to be careful and hold on to the fences/railings.

It rained a few days before we went there so the cave was a little damp.

And of course, because it is a cave, the smell of bat urine is everywhere. It is very pungent, so if you aren't used to it, try to cover your nose with a wet handkerchief.

There are many altars located inside the cave for worship. If you go further, you will find another temple at the end of the cave.

The cave is really interesting and amazing. The light comes in from the hole on top of the cave.

In total, from going up and down stairs it would amount to around 600 - 700 steps.

View from the top of the last stairs to the middle of the cave.

The stairs here are steeper and wet so you could accidentally slip and fall.

Before you go inside the main cave or after you go out, you will see this Dark cave, however we had to pay an entrance fee to get inside, so we didn't go there and just enjoyed our time watching how monkeys spend their days outside the cave.

There was this Japanese couple who were giving small apples to the monkeys while trying to take a photo with the monkeys. The monkeys seems to scare people by showing their teeth and creating a really loud shriek.

During that time, we also saw an incident where a monkey stole a guest's drink from her.
But the most amazing part is when monkey parents are guiding their babies. One of them was a father who was teaching his baby on how to ask or get food from humans.

And a mother was gathering food together with her baby.

When you look closely to the mother's tummy, the baby is hiding by hugging tightly to her.

Mama monkey found some coconut and ate to gain nutrients.

Hello cute baby monkey! How are you doing there?

And when you are carrying some plastic bags, monkeys will be curious with you. These monkeys are not tame at all, they are still wild and might be dangerous if you accidentally try to be close to them. So it is best to just stand with a distance in between them to be safe for both monkey and human.

P.S.
I was able to feel a monkey's fur. One was running down through the railings in the picture below, and I tried to touch it while it was running down. The fur was so silky and smooth. That was enough for me. I don't recommend you to do the same thing as what I did, as it is dangerous.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the cute monkeys!

Thank you for reading! Please anticipate for the next food or travel adventure!

Food Trip: Jalan Alor, KL, Malaysia

2017-12-13T19:00:00.000+08:00

One thing you should not miss when you are in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is the famous street, Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang!

It is famous for being a street that sells a variety of food! Street food indeed! From satay, seafood, Chinese food, Vietnamese food, fruits, and desserts. A place where you need to prepare your stomach to handle binge eating.

In this blog, we will give you some simple tips to enjoy your time and food. I am not sure if you have known, but as a street food area with tables and chairs everywhere you would surely end up confused on where to sit and where to eat.

Tip #1

You should arrive in the street before the sun sets. We went there around 6pm. Their sunset is the same as their neighboring country, Singapore. Albeit, an hour earlier.

Tip #2

Walk from one end of the street to the other end. This is to see and check on the food you would want to eat. Wander around, not for too long though, check some prices if you can.

Click on the image and open link in tab to zoom in.

Tip #3

Find a spot nearest to the place where you want to eat or find the person you would prefer to be served. That person will find a table for you, give you a menu and suggestions.

Tip #4

If you have a tight budget, don't give in to the server's suggestions. Choose wisely. Check whether you are buying a small, medium, or large serving. Be smart, be wise, and check the details. The menus are quite big and thick, so there were no good photos of it.

Tip #5

Wait for the food to be served and enjoy when it arrives. We had some chicken, mi goreng, satay, and lohmi.

This was so juicy and tender and the sauce was such a great complement.

That blurry part near the chopstick is the steam. When we tried stirring the noodle, steam kept leaking from it. It was hot and so good!

Satay! A finely grilled chicken with peanut butter sauce. Although I wanted the sauce to be more spicy and more nutty flavor.

The Lohmi in a quite a big bowl. It was a small portion though but it was so difficult to finish. Since it was in one big bowl, the heat was just confined inside and when it gets cold, it doesn't taste as nice. I still liked it but it was such a filler after all that we had eaten.

Tip #6

If you want a dessert somewhere else, keep a space on your stomach. Don't order too much.

They prepare your ice cream in a coconut shell...

...and you get to choose your toppings!

Open the photos in a new tab to see the photos up close and the details.

The experience is just as simple as that. An exciting experience since you would notice some servers would try to steal you - customers, from other servers. It's very wild in that sense and they still keep their service good and on time. More people would start coming in when the sun has set, so it gets really busy.

The total spending that we had was RM 63 including the dessert - ice cream. The dessert costed RM10. As for the dinner, we had a medium portion of roasted chicken, small satay, small mi goreng, and small lohmi and 2 cans of Coke.

Just keep calm, order, eat, take your time, and pay.

Thank you for reading! Please anticipate for the next food or travel adventure!

Food Trip: The Narra, Malaysia

2017-12-04T19:00:00.000+08:00

As a Filipino myself and have been away from my home country for a while now, I have missed the food I used to eat, smell, and enjoy. Although there are some restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I could not appreciate the taste as it was far from what I wanted, used to, and missed a lot.

Then we had a chance to go to Kuala Lumpur a few weeks ago. This time Calvin found a Filipino restaurant with a great review and it was more interesting as it is named under the National Tree, Narra.

The exact address is G001 Dataran Millennium, Jalan 14/1, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. It is outside the capital city but going there by train, Grab, or Uber is quite affordable to do so. However, what we decided to do was to stop by Jaya Shopping Center and walk towards the restaurant.

It was located in a really quiet neighborhood which makes it look like it was secluded away from the busy streets of the city.

It wasn't that difficult to find the restaurant, just follow the map and it will lead you there.

It was already late in the afternoon when we decided to have lunch and it was on a weekday so it was not busy at all. The restaurant has been decorated with Christmas decorations as it was just a month before the event. It had a really good, cozy, and clean ambiance.

Immediately sitting on the most comfortable area, we received the menu and ordered.

Click on the image and open link in tab to zoom in.

In less than 15 minutes our order has arrived.

The dishes were flavored the Tagalog style. It was good but it didn't satisfy me that much. I missed the crispy skin of the Lechon Belly that I used to eat in Cebu and the savory taste of longganisa.

Overall, it was a really nice experience and the food was also okay. I enjoyed the Bicol Express very much as I am used to this Northern taste of the food. The Lechon was also good when dipped in the sauce.

In my own opinion, they need to work more on their service, maybe there were less than a handful of customers, they should serve with a smile at least. I've noticed that in a lot of Filipino restaurants even in Ho Chi Minh City. They look bored and doesn't want to work, which kind of makes me feel uneasy waiting and taking an order.

Well, while waiting, I enjoyed looking at some groceries from the Philippines that are available for sale.

And some photos of the cozy ambiance of the restaurant.

tricycle jeepney

calesa

Here is the receipt of all we ordered:

Thank you for reading! Please anticipate for the next food or travel adventure!

Michelin-starred Chain in Cambodia: Tim Ho Wan

2017-09-17T00:12:00.000+08:00

Another reason to visit Phnom Penh, Cambodia: the Michelin-starred dim sum chain opened just on the first few days on August 2017 at Aeon Mall.

The food is good and affordable. I bet you already know that dim sum is a food you share with a friend or whoever is accompanying you in the restaurant. Also, you are supposed to eat a lot. Well, for our case, we couldn't eat a lot.

Pork & Shrimp Siew Mai which costed $3.50

The wonton wrapper was so fresh. It tasted totally different with the usual siew mai I had. We could also taste the whole shrimp in it. It was small but was already slowly filling our stomachs.

By the way, as for ordering the food, they do it this way. I noticed this more in Cambodia. When we go to restaurants, they normally just hand the customers a pen and a paper of the menu for us to fill up. It's more convenient that way and they just need to confirm the orders.

It was a few hours after lunch and during the weekdays so it wasn't full and we could enjoy our food. They have an open kitchen where you can see the chefs cooking and a private room for of course, private dinners.

Now as we go on to our food exploration...

we basically started off with the baked BBQ pork buns which costed $3.80.

This lovely golden brown perfect looking buns that would surprise you with a tasty filling.

Calvin loved this one best. It is what he has been wanting to eat. I didn't like it, because it was my first time to eat a sweet bun and a char siu inside it. It was good, but I prefer the other. A lot of people likes it but maybe because it was new for me or something like that. I was trying to get to know more about dim sum.

Anyway, all of our orders were almost served at the same time, if not, it's one after the other.

Another order was Dumpling Teochew Style which costed $3.50.

This one, I love the best. I like the size, the taste of the vegetables, the filling, and especially after dipping it into the sauce. From the texture of the wrapper to the filling. It was so good I wanted more, but there are still others we had to eat.

Then we got this Pork Rib with Yam & Black Bean Sauce which costed $3.50.

This was good, the yam keeps the heat in it and I think it is best to eat with rice or something else to enjoy the sauce. The sauce was so good. It tasted heavenly but we were experiencing hell. The more we eat, the fuller we get. We still have one more and we were having a hard time finishing them.

We were a bit in a pinch, so we couldn't spend an hour eating all of them.

And then we got this Shrimp Vermicelli Roll which costed $3.80.

We both love this one so much. It was too much for us, but we didn't care, we just loved how this food tasted. The freshness is just bursting into our mouths. This just keeps my eyes stuck to it, inviting me to eat it.

It was a good experience. A good meal for lunch but too much I guess? Overall, we spent $23.00 for everything including an unlimited serving of hot tea for Calvin while I got one glass of original tea which was homemade barley tea.

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Thank you for reading! Please anticipate for the next food or travel adventure!

1 day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

2017-08-18T16:30:00.000+08:00

The third country in my list, Cambodia. We have stayed in the capital city, Phnom Penh for a couple of days, but the places we've been to can be visited in one day so I'm listing them down if you ever get a day in Phnom Penh before going to Angkor Wat or maybe Thailand or another country.

The first time I arrived, the traffic from a province outside Phnom Penh surprised me although of course I understand as the government was developing the road to make it a better one for all travelers.

And my first impression in the city was that it was so peaceful. There were a lot of cars but I don't see traffic that much. Air was clean and sidewalks are wide.

So I'll start on the places where you can go to. Well, if you are staying in a hotel near the Independence Monument, all you need is to walk the whole day.

Brace yourself for a whole day of walking, prepare a liter of water and enough money.

First place to visit is the Independence Monument and the park where the Statue of King Father Norodom Sihanouk is located.

Independence Monument

Statue of King Father Norodom Sihanouk

Then go to the end of this park and turn left, where you will see another park. It's the Wat Botum Park.

Where you can sit on some benches and enjoy the April shower, relax after walking, and or buy some snacks or drinks nearby.

If you have enough time, you can go inside the Royal Palace before they go for lunch just walk straight to the end of the park.

Since we walked late, we arrived late and it was lunch time. Lunch break was for 2 hours, so we couldn't wait and decided to walk to the river to enjoy the view and to the Royal Palace Park where you can feed and try to chase pigeons.

Where the pigeons rest away from people.

And around that area, you can find a lot of ethnic restaurants to enjoy lunch. But if you left early from your hotel, you can continue walking northbound through Samdach Sothearos Boulevard, but before you go straight ahead, you can have a stop over at Wat Ounalom to just check out their temple, pray, take a photo, or relax.

The entrance

This is free, so you can just come inside.

The detailed fence of the temple.

From there, you can walk through the street near the river or go left and find Preah Norodom Boulevard then go right to the north side and head to Wat Phnom park. This park is round and the temple is on top of the hill. Full of trees and benches where you can rest under the sun when it is too hot, which we did.

However, you need to pay a small amount to enter this park.

The front face of the temple on the top of the hill. You can just freely go inside but remove your shoes outside before you do.

The stairs to the top, shortcut if you don't want to walk around and around.

The walking path surrounding the temple.

We found stray cats in the area and was being fed by an old woman who seems to be having a hard time making ends meet. We had extra food from the Indian food where we went and decided to put it in a goody bag to be eaten back to the hotel. However, we decided to give it to her. She was so kindhearted that she gave it to the cats instead. Mixing the soup with the rice that she got and the cats ate them.

If you happen to be there, you may feed the cats and even pat them. You can also try to help the old woman if you ever see her.

Then, you can go to the Central Market to buy souvenirs. Too bad I don't have a lot of photos of it. I'll add more when I can.

The dome of the central market

After shopping, you can still go to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in the afternoon. It will just take 32 minutes walk from the Central Market. Just go south through Preah Monivong Boulevard.

We suggest you take an audio tour to be able to understand the history. Although it will cost a little more, you could feel as if everything had just happened a few years back. Also, it won't feel like you are reading a part of the history by the book. And it's easier to understand why it has became a museum today.

Also, there are traditional dance shown late in the afternoon, so you might want to see it as well.

After this visit, you may go to Aeon Mall for a change of pace or just go back to your hotel, either take a bath/shower or enjoy a swim in a pool and relax for your next travel.

If you have any comments, questions, and suggestions, feel free to do so. Have a great day and enjoy your trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia!