Leighnie's blog

Fukuoka, Japan: One Prefecture at a time

2025-01-06T14:12:00.001+08:00

We spent the Christmas Vacation in Japan. This time, we went to Fukuoka.

Day 1: We arrived at the airport around 3pm. We decided to take a taxi to Tenjin where we will be staying as the airport is just 9km away. We paid around Php1,500 for the trip

First dinner in Japan is at Gyukatsu Motomura

Day 2: Zeke's day

We went to all of Zeke's must-visit places starting with the Pokemon Center at Amu Plaza, Hakata Station
Lalaport Mall where the Gundam Statue is
Finished off the day at Fukuoka Tower

Since Christmas was days away, long lines at the only Pokemon Center in Fukuoka

Gundam Statue at the Lalaport Mall. This is a big mall where you can also shop

The View at Fukuoka Tower was nice

Aside from photo places, there are also locks you can buy and put your initials on put it in the tower

There was also a Christmas Market just across the tower. Waffles and Hot Choco are delicious

Day 3: Trip to Yufuin

Yufuin Station

Ate Bungo Beef Mabushi

Strawberries at Yunotsubo Food Street

We did not go in but they also have a trick art museum

Snoopy Village

Ice cream with honey

Stayed at a Ryokan

Public Bath

Dinner

Child's Kaeseki Dinner

Adult's dinner includes wagyu beef sukiyaki

Onsen time wearing yukata

Private onsen

Day 4: Trip back to Hakata

Breakfast Kaeseki

Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine

Don't forget to pat the bull for good luck in exams

Ramen dinner in Canal City's Ramen stadium

Christmas Eve

Day 5: Travelled to Nagasaki for Huis Ten Bosch

Trick Eye

They are famous for this 3 floor carousel

Day 6: Kitakyushu Day Trip

This was an interactive museum. We really had fun

The highlight was the dinosaur show

Day 7: Uminonakamichi Seaside Park

Hakata Issou

Finally, strawberries

Day 8: Last minute shopping and Ohori Park

As always, Japan still remains to be our favorite country to visit. Each trip brings new experiences.

Watch more of our adventures here:

Oh Canada

2024-06-19T15:29:00.001+08:00

We were supposed to go to Canada to visit Mac's brother last 2020. But then the pandemic happened so all flights were cancelled.

So this trip was a long time coming.

What's better for this trip was Mac's mom was able to also go to Canada and spent time with us.

Watch our adventures here:

Celebrating New Year in Nagoya, Japan

2024-01-06T15:19:00.001+08:00

Back again to our favorite country.

This time, we went to Nagoya Japan.

Every Japan trip we get to do new activities and it is always a different experience. No matter how many times we go back, we will still continue to return again and again.

Sharing our relaxed itinerary

Day 1

We arrived around lunch time and had lunch near the hotel. It was a Sumibiyaki lunch where we grilled items
We checked in to our hotel JR Gate Hotel. This is located at the JR train itself. You can see the trains from your room window
Went around Sakae, walked around Hisaya Odori Park, Oasis 21 and dropped by Bic before going to bed

Oasis 21 at the background. There was an ice rink below.

Nagoya Tower

Day 2

After breakfast at the hotel, we went to Nagoya Castle and Honmaru Palace
Ate lunch at Yabaton
Went to Nagashima Farm for Strawberry Picking. This was so good!
Nabana No Sato

Samurais in front of the Nagoya Castle

Nagoya Castle

Yabaton for lunch

Sweetest strawberries ever

Nabana no Sato

Day 3

We hired a private car to take us to Shirakawa-go
Walked around Takayama and bought a lucky bag
Dropped by Hirugano Kogen Ski Area

Shirakawa-go

Hida Beef

Day 4

Spent the day at Legoland

Day 5 (New Year's Eve)

Shopped at Mitsui Jazz Outlet Park in Nagashima
Waited for the Onsen to open again at 8pm for the New Year's Eve Countdown
First Onsen experience
Nagashima Theme Park for the New Year's Eve countdown

Waiting outside the park

Onsen

There were girl groups and boy groups having a concert

Fireworks

Day 6

Shopping around Osu
We experienced an earthquake
We wanted to shop around unfortunately most of the shops were closed during January 1. We ended up at Don Quijote

Nagoya is quiet on Jan 1

Train tracks. View from our room window

People go to their temples for New Year

Watch our adventures here:

La Playa at the Strand, Bataan

2023-12-23T14:40:00.001+08:00

We were not able to go to the beach for the entire year. So before the year ended, we booked into La Playa at the Strand.

We got the Mountain View Regular Room. They were fairly easy to talk to and coordinate with. I booked a month before.

They had 2 bedrooms with 2 queen beds per room, a private pool, complete kitchen and utensils.

It was a short walk to the beach since we were facing the road.

The pool

2nd floor bedroom

Beach front, they have tables and chairs that you can occupy

Balcony view

We also went to the Pawikan Center and released baby pawikans

Run baby turtles

Kitchen with range. They also have pots and pans that you can use.

Complete utensils

Hamilton the Musical

2023-10-16T14:31:00.000+08:00

This was such a blast!

I first learned of Hamilton when they won the Tony's in 2015. The year Zeke was born. I would always play and sing Dear Theodosia to my belly and when Zeke was a baby.

When Zeke grew, he also had a Hamilton Phase, he would play the entire soundtrack the whole day.

So when we heard that Hamilton was coming to Manila, we knew we couldn't pass up this opportunity.

We were total fans!

We ran outside to Stage Door immediately after the play

Watched with Gab, Sandra and Dri

Bye Daddy

2023-09-03T14:00:00.001+08:00

Daddy has returned to our Lord.

Taal Vista Hotel and Tagaytay SkyRanch

2023-08-12T13:51:00.001+08:00

Spending time with Mac's Mom before she returns to the states.

We went to Tagaytay and spent a night. We always stay at Taal Vista everytime we go to Tagaytay.

This time we took the Mountain View Room and also got discounted Sky Ranch tickets already from the hotel. Taal Vista is convenient if you want to go to Sky Ranch because they have their own entrance from the hotel.

Mountain View room with 2 queen beds

Swimming Pool

Nice view of Taal Volcano

This boy rode the mini-vikings 5 times

Lunch at Sonya's

Memorable Baguio

2023-07-16T13:42:00.001+08:00

Since getting diagnosed, my Dad has decided he does not want to continue treatment.

He is a doctor so he probably knows better. All we could do was give him what he wants.

He loves to travel ( I guess I got it from him). And he wanted the whole family to go to Baguio.

And so we did. And we will never forget this trip with him.

He told us how thankful he was and how happy he is that he was able to still go back to Baguio despite being sick.

Dropped by Manaoag. This is a yearly tradition for my parents

Summer in Tokyo, Japan

2023-06-10T13:35:00.001+08:00

We are finally back in our favorite country, Japan!

It was Mac's Birthday but our entire itinerary was centered around everything that Zeke likes.

So it was endless Pokemon shops, gachapons, Ninjas and Samurais.

Watch our adventure here:

Shanti Wellness Village - Holy Friday to Easter Sunday

2023-04-20T13:32:00.000+08:00

We wanted a quiet and slow long weekend for the Holy Week.

Specially since we have been stressed due to health issues with my Dad.

It was indeed a slow-down at Shanti Wellness Village in Batangas. They had a lot of offering and activities that will all get you closer to nature.

They have several dome tents which you can rent. Each place is secluded and you won't get to see your neighbors. You get your own bonfire. 2 queen beds, a small kitchen (you can bring your own food but you can also order food from them), a small private pool also.

We enjoyed the hot water in the kawa bath.

We had a forest bathing experience as well as a sound bath

At night, they will setup your own bonfire

The massages were very relaxing

There are a lot of places to walk around

Hug a tree

You can relax in your own hammock

They have this in the reception/parking area. Skye wants to play too

Spending Christmas with Family Across the Globe

2023-01-06T13:15:00.001+08:00

We lost family during the Pandemic. So we wanted to spend time with them now that we can fly back to the US.

We spent Christmas with Mac's relatives and I also got to meet some of my cousins who live there.

In this episode of our family adventures', we went to LA, played in the snow at Lake Tahoe, celebrated Christmas Day with Mac's (almost) complete family, vacationed in San Diego.

Watch our adventures here:

Baguio Christmas Village

2022-11-08T13:04:00.014+08:00

One of our favorite cities is Baguio. Because of the cold weather of course and the city never fails to reinvent itself.

This time, we went to the places that we haven’t been to before.

We heard Sunday Mass

Wishing Wall in the Christmas Village

It was a long line to get inside this Christmas Village. They had snow (made out of soap) every top of the hour

They also had a lot of cosplayers inside

Was it a Japanese themed Christmas Village?

Or Korean?

Having fun playing with the soap suds

We also went to the Mirador Hills which is a Jesuit property

They had a Bamboo Forest similar to that in Kyoto

Singapore Adventures

2022-08-25T12:02:00.001+08:00

We finally decided to go out of the country again.

For my birthday this year, we went to Singapore.

We hit the usual touristy places and just relaxed and enjoyed.

Celebrating Birthdays in New Places - El Nido, Palawan

2022-06-06T11:57:00.000+08:00

For Mac's birthday this year, we decided to spend it, where else, but the beach again.

It was our first time flying again after the Pandemic and we decided to go to El Nido, Palawan since Zeke was too small the last time we went.

We rode Airswift because we didn't want to the land trip from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. Airswift flies direct to Lio.

We spend everyday doing island hopping and snorkeling and eating and just having loads of fun together.

Holy Week Activities in Bulacan

2022-04-19T11:53:00.001+08:00

Finally, the Church has allowed the Holy Week Activities and traditions to be held again.

Since Zeke was not able to experience this before, we wanted him to witness everything that both me and Mac experienced when we were kids.

We also wanted him to understand the significance and why we observe Holy Week so that he will also grow in his faith.

My Water Baby

2022-04-13T11:46:00.001+08:00

How much do we love the water? So much so that we had water-related activities for the first quarter of the year.

In January, we stayed at La Luz Beach Resort, Batangas. We wanted to maximize the time as long as Zeke is still in online classes when we can go out on trips.

Before we had Zeke, we would go to San Juan Batangas to snorkel. And its fun now that I get to enjoy snorkeling with Zeke.

One of Zeke's wishes was to see dolphins. We went beyond that by taking him to Ocean Adventure in Subic in March. We availed of the Swim with the Dolphins package. This included an up close encounter with a sea lion, feeding the turtles and swimming with the dolphins.

Zeke was such a trooper with the antigen tests required.

We stayed overnight in Subic and the morning after, rode horses at El Kabayo ranch. We feel like this is a more worth it horseback ride since you really go and see the forest and not just go around in circles (compared to Baguio's Wright Park)

In April, we heard of a fairly new resort in Bagac, Bataan. La Jolla Beach Resort.

So we decided to see the activities. We felt like, the food was not as good or was too expensive. You are forced to eat their food because you are not allowed to bring your own. The beach was calm but we felt like there were 'nik nik' as the water was a bit itchy. There were also a lot of people when we went so the pool near the beach was full. There were 2 pools, one bigger pool near the reception area and one near the beach.

We enjoyed the ATV though.

Here's to more beach adventures to come. And hopefully we get over the pandemic and everything continue to open.

Beach Adventures

2021-12-22T11:23:00.001+08:00

We haven't been to the beach in a while!

Fortunately, we were able to secure rooms at Stilts, Calatagan, Batangas last November.

We brought our dog, Skye and had fun outdoors playing with our kite and swimming until night.

And to celebrate Mommy and Daddy's birthdays in December, we went back to Calatagan, this time in Aquaria.

If you will ask, both resorts in Calatagan are recommended. Stilts was older and Aquaria was more modern. But regardless, ameneties and rooms in Stilts were still up to our standards. Both resorts had beach front rooms.

What we liked with Aquaria though was that they had a big water park with several different pools and a slide. They also had bigger lawns/gardens to play other sports.

Korean Glamping at Seoul Stay

2021-10-26T11:16:00.001+08:00

Last October 25, 2021 we tried our first Glamping experience.

One of the things that we wanted to do was to experience camping but before the actual full blown camping, we first wanted to try Glamping.

And since we also love Korean stuff, we found a perfect place at Seoul Stay.

Seoul Stay is located in Rizal so just less than an hour away from Metro Manila.

You will have your own tent, your own small pool.

Watch our vlog to see more of their amenities.

Zekezoned Adventures - Highland Bali, Pantabangan Nueva Ecija

2021-10-02T11:08:00.001+08:00

Last 2021, we started going out again after the pandemic which changed everyone's lives. In the Philippines, we had the longest quarantine lasting from March 2020 - Jan 2021. And all kids were not allowed outside. There were a lot of establishments that did not allow children.

When restrictions finally eased, we took advantage of this to go back on vacations with family.

We went to Highland Bali because they had a private small pool and we could still observe social distancing.

Watch our adventures on Youtube:

Zekezoned Tokyo, Japan

2019-11-13T09:21:00.003+08:00

It was Japan time again for the little boy, this time in Tokyo.

Zeke is a real trooper in diy trips like this and you really see that he is enjoying the trip. He didn't cry once in the trip and never complained (only when he got hungry and was craving Jollibee,there wasn't any in Tokyo!)

We strive to give Zeke more memories of trips with his family and extended family because we know that this will be what he will remember and treasure when he grows up as I remember all my trips with my family even when I was young.

More than toys and parties, we'd really like to invest in travel so he sees what the world has to offer.

Random pet shop in Shibuya. Zeke really wanted to buy this Chihuahua. Even now that we are back home, he continues to tell stories of his future dog.

We stayed in an Airbnb and we would buy Zeke pancakes or waffles or cooked rice and spam so that he can have breakfast before we leave for our trip for the day

We ate twice in Han No Daidokoro Shibuya. I swear you will not look at beef the same way again after tasting the yakiniku here.

At Senso-Ji Temple Asakusa with a random Japanese girl

More girls!

Strawberries from Tsukiji Market are really sweet

Lake Kawaguchi

Team Lab's Borderless

At Ikspiari Mall outside of Tokyo Disneysea

Random elevator selfie in Tokyo Disneysea

While we were in the long lines for the rides, look who was sleeping

Toy Story Mania ride

We didn't go inside Legoland here but he wanted a picture with this guy

At Odaiba

The Unicorn Gundam

At Team Lab, you can draw and they will scan it and you will see your artwork come to life around the walls and floors of the room

More Team Lab

Wakanda Forever pose. You watched Black Panther before leaving to Tokyo, thus this pose

The iconic Tokyo tower

In the observatory level, there are glass floors where you can step on and look down

View at night

Amazing Tokyo Tower

Appreciating the sight in Lake Kawaguchi

We didn't catch full Autumn but there were several trees already turning red

Lake Kawaguchi Musical Forest

We were lucky to see Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji

At the sky garden of one of the malls in Yokohama

Vintage Ship in Yokohama

Back view of the Cosmo Clock Ferris wheel

Odaiba

Ride the clear gondolas for better views

The cup noodle museum

Cosmo Clock

No visit to Japan is complete without Ramen. Here's our favorite Ichiran

Lucky to have seen the top floors of the Shibuya Sky which opened just in time for our visit

At Meiji-Jingu Shrine

Walking to Meiji-Jingu

Look at that marbling of the beef. Again at Han no Daidokoro

Views from above

It was also our first time to use the Lounge perks so we used the new PAGGS lounge in the NAIA Terminal 3. Here's the selection of food.

Nachos!

Assorted Fruits

Magnolia Ice Cream, Yey!

Coffee

Juice

They had beef, rice, siomai etc.

Arrozcaldo

Heading to our boarding gate

And of course, Hachiko

In gist, this is our itinerary:
Day 1 - Shibuya Sky, Shibuya Crossing
Day 2 - Yokohama Cup Noodle Museum, Cosmo World
Day 3 - Mt. Fuji and Gotemba outlet
Day 4 - Odaiba
Day 5 - Disney Sea
Day 6 - Asakusa & Senso-ji Temple

Till the next adventure.

Zekezoned Singapore & Malaysia - Birthday Bonanza

2019-08-29T18:15:00.001+08:00

For the entire first half of the year, Zeke was looking forward to go to Legoland for his birthday. And since there was a very timely holiday this August 21 and 26, we took the opportunity to go and celebrate. The energetic toddler's current addiction is Ninjago and the Transformers so we planned to go to both Legoland Malaysia and Universal Studios Singapore

Day 1
Our flight out was at 6am so we are awake really early but Zeke was so cooperative. The flight was uneventful and we slept all through it. I booked a van transfer straight from Changi airport to Legoland Malaysia from Sgmytrips for a supposed 180 SGD to and from Malaysia. The advantage here is you do not need to go down the border to fall in line in immigration. However, since its Mac and I's first time in Malaysia, we still needed to go down but straight to their office to do biometrics. It only took 5 minutes.

We arrived in Legoland around 12 noon and there were so many lego bricks to keep Zeke entertained, even from just the lobby. Check in however was at 4pm so we just decided to get our theme park tickets and leave our luggages in the concierge.

We went first to the water park. Zeke is a real water baby!

We left the water park at around 4pm to check in and freshen up. Upon entering the Ninjago room, Zeke went straight to the treasure hunt! He knew this because he would always ask to watch youtube videos of other kids who had previously stayed in the Legoland Hotel. After 2 tries, we finally got the combination code correct and got the lego toys. Yey.

Since the aquarium Sealife was gonna be closed at 6pm and we still had time, we decided to visit it already so that we can dedicate our full day in Legoland the next day. The aquarium is fairly small but there is one interactive portion where you get to touch the starfish.

We went to the Medini Mall accross the Legoland Theme park to buy dinner after and since we had a very early day, we slept really early. The Medini Mall had a Burger King, a very expensive convenience store, KFC and a Chinese restaurant

Day 2:

It was a very hot day! We went to a lot of rides since Zeke already met most of the height requirements except that the horse ride required him to be 4yo already. So he didnt get to ride that.

Zeke was so funny in the fast rides because he said he didn't want to anymore because "nagugulat tyan ko" . I keep on further encouraging him to be brave.

We enjoyed the Ninjago ride and also bought Lego toys that weren't available in the Philippines.

Our pick up to go to Singapore was scheduled at 4pm however the driver said he was coming form KL and would be arriving at around 7pm. We didnt want to waste time waiting so we decided to cancel that and had arranged a taxi from Legoland Hotel. This taxi dropped us off in Queens Street. Grab is not allowed to transport passengers from Malaysia to Singapore and vice versa anymore. The taxi cost 90SGD.

Upon arrival at the bus terminal in Singapore, we just took a 9SGD Grab because we had luggage and didn't want to really commute.

We stayed in Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway because location wise, it is just above the Somerset MRT station which is accessible to places we wanted to go to.

Day 3:

Before we went to Universal Studios, we went to the ticketing office in the MRT station to get Zeke a child concession ticket which will allow him to ride the MRT for free till he is 7 years old.

Zeke was less than a month's shy of 4 years old and USS tickets are free for children 0-3 so yey! We paid through klook around P2,600.00 each for the entrance ticket.

We went straight to the Transformers ride and waited first for Bumblebee and Optimus Prime to come out. Zeke had such a blast! As usual, rides were so long for all the rides but we made sure we still rode the transformers ride (which was really similar to the Ninjago ride). That was a 60 minute wait in line but good thing Zeke was so behaved.

Day 4:

Decided to leave the hotel a little later to be able to take advantage of the beautiful rooftop pool.

We want back to Resorts World Sentosa, this time to ride the Luge. We all had so much fun going down the Luge but again Zeke got scared of the ride in the airlift because it was so high which I actually found really funny.

Day 5:

Zoo day! We went to Singapore Zoo and the River Safari. I guess we were already tired this day so we didnt get to really walk around the huge Zoo. haha.

We went to the newly re-opened Funan mall to buy electronics stuff and then back to Orchard to meet with Mac's friends

Day 6:

Going home day! Flight was still at 2pm but we spent the entire morning packing and upon arrival at the airport just went to take quick pictures of the Jewel at Changi.

All the pictures after the jump:

Meet up with Mac's friends. We ate at Marche, a European restaurant

At the Rooftop pool of Hotel Jen

Amazing work of architecture. Changi Airport's Jewel which can be found in Terminal 1

Hotel Jen by Shangri-la really lived up to the Shangri-La brand. They thought of everything, they had a vendo in all their guest room floors for those midnight hunger pangs and they also provide an ice and water dispenser which was really useful if you had your own water tumblers, you can refill your water every morning to bring on your travels everyday. Upon checkout, they also have these luggage carts.

At the Funan Mall there was a claw machine area at the top floor. These machines were really from Japan and not rigged. We were able to get these stuff toys!

At the MRT

We also watched the Gardens by the Bay Light show. Since August was the founding month of Singapore, their theme was the songs of Singapore

While waiting for the light show, they have a grassy area in front of the Food hall where you can have a picnic while you wait.

Happy boy at the Luge

Water baby

Enjoying the rooftop pool

The Waterworld show was too loud for the boy

Finally saw both Bumblebee and Optimus Prime

The mandatory USS globe picture

Early morning swim

Legos Legos everywhere

Wall climbing in the Ninjago area

Lego car

What's interesting inside Legoland Hotel is that their Lego mascots come out at times

Sealife

Zekezoned Taiwan - Travelling with an Energetic Toddler

2018-12-10T15:21:00.002+08:00

On December 6, 2018, Mac and I celebrated 10 years together. And to celebrate, I wanted to go to a place where we haven't been to before.

But I wanted it to be nearby so I don't get pressured with the itinerary and all the pre-travel (i.e. visa) requirements. I wanted to relax on the trip.

I also wanted to splurge a little. And so we did (but still not so much)

Trip Report time:

Day 1
We rode Philippine Airlines because as I said, we wanted to splurge a little. So we did not take the budget, our usual Cebu Pacific flight.This time we flew the flag carrier which comes with meals, baggage allowance and a more comfortable check - in process. We even tried the mypal upgrade system which lets you bid additional money to win business class seats. We did the minimum bid, unfortunately we didn't win it. haha

Our flight arrived on time at around 10:00am. There were no time difference between the Philippines and Taiwan. The walk to the immigration was a bit far but there are walkalators. Take advantage of the dedicated lines for those with small children. When we cleared immigration, our bags were already in the carousel. Their system is so efficient.

We went outside and first bought a sim card, since we were staying for 5 days we got a Fareastone Preparid card, it was 300 TWD for unlidata already. We already have a huawei mobile wifi which we always bring on our travels and this was the best investment we have for all our trips. We don't need to go back to arrival hall before we leave a country to return a rented portable wifi. And we find that just buying a simcard is cheaper. For the 5 days we stayed in Taiwan, we consumed almost 200gig. Super sulit!

Our hotel was Hotel Midtown Richardson in Ximending. So we rode the airport express train to Taipei Main Station then transferred (this was a really long walk) to the blue (Bannan) line to go down just one stop in Ximending. There is an elevator in exit 4 and the hotel is right in front of you when you go out.

Since check-in was still at 3pm, the first item of the day was lunch! We ate buffet lunch in Mala Hotpot along Ximending. Just google Mala Hotpot. They have all types of meat balls, squid balls, their meats are delicious, they have unlimited ice cream. This was so worth it. A weekday lunch meal costs around 600 TWD. This gets full really fast so better if a reservation is made but since we were there early, around 11:50 am and it was a Wednesday, we were able to get in on the waiting list. We were able to eat around 12:15pm. So not too long a wait.

After lunch we just walked around Ximending and then checked in at the hotel. Rest (afternoon nap).

For our first night, we explored Shillin Night Market, this was a typical night market where there is plenty of food choices and souvenir shops. This gets crowded so I decided not to bring the stroller and instead put Zeke in his carrier. Since Zeke always has to have rice for his meals we couldn't eat in the different food stalls standing up so we had dinner in one of the steak restaurants along the market. Unfortunately, they also did not have rice, good thing there is a family mart just nearby and this is where I bought the rice.

Don't also miss the Shillin Market where there are perya type games.

Day 2

Lefoo Village theme park. We rode the commute going there so train then e-go bus. My tip is to time your arrival to avoid a long wait for the e-go bus. It only comes every 30 minutes. However, I do not recommend this if you don't have a lot of time because the bus took 2 hours! It had a lot of stops and I think did not pass by the expressway.

Lefoo Village is an old theme park, I don't know if its because it was a thursday that's why a lot of rides and restaurants were closed but I just found the theme park a bit sad. Although for Zeke it was still a great experience. And since there weren't too many people we didn't have to line up in any rides. We arrived at the theme park at around 12noon. We had lunch and at around 3pm we have finished with all the rides Zeke can ride on and we have gone around the entire park.

Good thing they had a buy 1 take 1 entrance fee promo going on, so I think what we paid was still worth it.

There was also a mini zoo section where we saw birds, monkeys, fed the goats. So Zeke really had a grand time here.

While we were waiting for the bus to arrive again, a taxi driver haggled with us and one other couple who were also waiting. We agreed to pay 1,000 twd for all three of us already and he will bring us straight to Taipei 101. It only took us an hour to go back to Taipei! haha. compared to the 3 hour ride going to the theme park. So I really suggest you contract a taxi. Or grab the kkday shuttle plus entrance fee package. Althoug the advantage of not taking any package is that you have control of your own time.

It was after sunset when we finally reached the top of Taipei 101. We arrived around 5:30, the person at the reception said it was foggy but we still went ahead. There were a lot of other tourists also going there. Zeke was sleeping by this time but he woke up in time for when we went to the outdoor observation deck at the 91st floor. The elevator went up to the 88th floor in just seconds. Do not forget to look up at the ceiling when you are at the elevator, there are constellations.

We had dinner in the Taipei 101 mall food court.

Day 3

For this day, we chartered a private car from Klook. Good decision also since it was rainy this day.

The private car was so worth it. Steven our driver picked us up on time, he also had viber so communication was easy. He actually sent his details the day before.

We left at exactly 8:30 am and our first stop was Yehliu, he gave us rain coats and lent us umbrellas since it was raining. He also accompanied us to the entrance area and gave us tips on the areas we really need to take pictures of. Where to spend time on, which areas to visit first.

In Yehliu, he said we had to line up first thing in the queen's head rock formation and we did. Good thing we did because by the time we were finished the line was so long already. There were other Filipino tourists who wanted to cut in line, but we can't do that.

In Jiufen, he showed us to what we had to see. But we did not get to go around Jiufen because it was really raining hard by this point. Althoug, we had a very filling and delicious lunch in a restaurant we just passed by.

In Shifen, the lighting of the sky lantern was the higlight. Steven actually took videos and photos of us. We had pictures in the suspension bridge.

And since there was enough time, we were able to go to the waterfalls. This was a bit of a hike. around 1 hour back and forth, but the view was breathtaking.

Steven dropped us off in the Living Mall which is a really child friendly mall where baby boss and austin land is. These are the equivalent of Kidzoona and Kidzania here in the philippines. There are also toy stores including toys r us.

Rahoe Night Market is just one station away from the Living mall so this is where we headed to next. Unlike Shillin, this night market I guess is aimed for locals also, the street food had more spices and there were more food than merchandise being sold. It is also smaller than shillin.

We just bought sausages for take-out then we headed home and ate dinner in our hotel room

Day 4

Taipei Zoo day for the little boy. Here was when we saw how the Taiwanese also value their family, so many people were out this day because it was a Saturday.

Zeke was so happy seeing the turtles, when he saw it, he shouted ninja turtles! He also loved the reptiles, the brown bear, pandas.

We finished early and went back to Ximending area to shop around. I also wanted to try the Bear 1 Yakiniku which was an eat all you can korean/japanese grill. I went up around 4pm and the next available slots were already at 6:30pm.

Dinner was delicious!

Day 5

Back to Manila day. Our flight was at 6pm so we just spent the morning fixing our luggage. Checked out a bit early. Left our baggage in the lockers near the airport express train stations and went around taipei main area station.

We were at the airport 3 hours early. Suggest you spend more time in the city because unlike the philippines, you do not need that much allowance in Taipei.

We arrived at home around 11pm already, tired but happy!

Picture time!

Zeke has learned to appreciate things, when he saw this flowers display, he stopped and said picture!

Inside the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store. The 8th floor is dedicated to kids

Taipei Main Station exit towards the department store

We left our luggage in these lockers in Taipei Main Station. If they are full, don't worry just keep walking there are a lot.

Bear 1 Yakiniku in Ximending. This is in Google maps

We loved this strawberries dipped in candy

At the Taipei Zoo. He said Mama take a picture with the Iguana. Same as in the condo. Our neighbor had an Iguana in their drying cage.

You can ride the tram inside the Taipei Main Station so that you skip the uphill walk. Line up at the end part so that you can load your stroller even without closing it.

Entrance to the Rahoe Night Market

So happy seeing a big Robocar Poli at the Living Mall or City Center Mall

Flying paper lantern in Shifen

Steven takes great pictures

Suspension bridge in Shifen

Tired from walking up those stairs with this little boy at my back

But this view was worth it

Walk walk walk

Writing on the paper lanterns. Each color represents an aspect of your life.

Random restaurant we found in Jiufen. The xiao long baos were so delicious

The milk tea should not be missed.

The queen's head at Yehliu

Yehliu Geopark

Our car charter comes with a free car seat

Taipei 101

Train roller coaster at Lefoo

We also met Santa. Zeke told him he wanted to have a firetruck for Christmas and Nice ako no Santa. Diba?

These birds attacked me! haha

We fed the goats

No one to bother us in Lefoo. It's like we had the theme park to ourselves

In Shillin Night Market

Mala Hotpot!

Zekezoned Thailand

2018-12-10T11:15:00.001+08:00

I have been really busy this year so travels were very few and far between.

This Thailand trip was a very welcome break from all the stress.

This was the first time I traveled without much of an itinerary and it was actually liberating.

Time for pictures

Grayson Village is in front of the very big Central world

We stayed in the Happy 3 Hotel. It was fairly decent although it is located within a dimly lit alley which makes walking at night a bit scary. But this hotel is just around a 5-minute walk to the MRT station.

Street food options

Central world. If you are tired of the heat in the open markets then go in here for the aircon

Bangkok has changed a bit since we last visited. They now have terrible traffic also. Took us an hour and a half from Chatuchak back to the Pratunam area

Mandatory tourist visit to the Grand Palace

Veranda at the Happy 3 Hotel with a nice vertical garden

We were staying at the fifth floor where beside our room there is a balcony with daybeds

We went outside of Bangkok to Hua Hin to see the beach, we would not miss seeing the elephants.

In the Hutsadin Elephant foundation, they do not abuse the elephants rather rescues them. Entrance is at 300 baht for you to either give a shower or feed the elephants. There is a higher fee if you want to walk with them or ride them bare backed

Our visit was during the Soy Krathong festival where they float krathongs in the sea and wish. We participated. Too bad Zeke and MJ were already sleeping during this time

The most fun day was the day we went to the water park. There were extreme rides for the adults and children's fun rides. Perfect to cool off

In the wave pool. I like that the water park provides all sizes of life vests.

Lazy river, perfectly suited for Zeke and MJ

Kiddie pool area

This is in front of the Vana Nava water park. We availed of the entrance tickets from Klook.

In Hua Hin, we stayed at the Anantasila Villa by the Sea. It was a very peaceful place. Quiet and breakfast buffet was yummy

Morning meditation by the pool

Expansive pool

They also had their night market where you can buy souvenirs and trinkets

Indoor portion of the Hua Hin Night Market

It was very easy to go around bangkok and Hua Hin, you will just hail a cab. They also have Grab. In Bangkok, since we are a relatively big group, we would opt for the 10 seater Grab option.

While the Bangkok to Hua Hin van transfers we also got from Klook.

Lost Philippines

2018-08-16T14:25:00.003+08:00

Number 1 in the Leaderboard

I have always wanted to try out these escape room games. Specially since I have always enjoyed the flash-based escape the room online games even way back college days.

Lost Philippines is a franchise from Hong Kong and other Asian countries. The difference in Lost versus the other escape room games is their use of technology. While Mystery Manila for example uses mostly number locks, lock and key, Lost uses digital keylocks.

We tried one of their harder rooms and came out in top place. I guess the key is really not to overthink the puzzles. Communicate well with your teammates because you really need to help each other in the puzzles.

This is actually a great team building exercise. Their rates are from 500-700 per person for one game depending on the room you choose.

Excited to go back and try their other rooms!

Zekezoned Seoul

2018-08-16T14:12:00.002+08:00

We took advantage of the BDO perk of getting multiple entry visas to South Korea last year. Because Mac had a BDO credit card, we were all entitled to a multiple entry visa.

Because I had specific travel dates I couldn't wait for an airfare sale, I compared all the airlines rates and flight times and ended up still choosing Philippine airlines as the most practical flight to take. The flight times are ideal. We arrive at 5am so we would have the whole day to roam around Seoul unlike the Cebu Pac flight that arrives at midnight.

We stayed in our cousins place near Lotte World, it was a bit far from the tourist places centrally located in Myeongdong but we did save on accommodations, so that's okay.

Since we had a lot of luggage we took the KAL Limo bus (16,000 won) from Incheon to Lotte World Hotel. From there, we walked to my cousin's place.

First thing on the agenda is sleep. We woke up lunchtime and went to Bukchon Hanok Village (too many people), tried the Dynamic Maze (this was fun to do but super tiring - old age, haha) and the Alive Museum ( this was fun)

We arrived back in our place arpund 10:30 pm and had Samgyupsal at home. yum yum.

The next days we spent going to Nami Island, Garden of the Morning Calm, Everland, Hangang River Park, Children’s Park and Lotte World.

As usual, pictures to do the talking.

We got to ride the Tayo Bus

Eating is not allowed inside the bus but I guess they will make an exception for cute babies

Greetings from the airport.

The Alive museum was also a fun experience. Too bad we were there around closing time already so we were in a bit of a rush. There are a lot of great photo opportunities here.

Like this one where there is an illusion that you are flying like Superman. Our picture taking skills needs improvement.

The Dynamic Maze and Alive museum is located along Insadong. You will see this sign outside and the actual maze is down a flight of stairs behind this sign.

On our day 2 we used the remaining pork from the samgyupsal the night before to make this fried rice called pokumpop.

Day 2 is Nami day. A must in Nami is riding the bicycles but since Zeke still cannot ride a bike, good thing there are electric scooters like this available for rent also.

Nami Island is also a great photo taking opportunity

After Nami we went to the Garden of the Morning Calm. This was such a beautiful big park specially when they turned on the lights.

The garden at almost sundown.

Zeke with Sena at the docks waiting for the Nami ferry

This was inside Lotte World. The little boy enjoying the train ride.

A promise made in exchange for riding the Gyro Swing. Which was so much fun. If only the lines were not that long I would ride here over and over.

The highlight of the Everland visit is of course the Safari area where Zeke got to see the animals

Zeke gets to ride the cable car going up

Pandas are adorable

These are in The Grand Children’s Park. There is also a mini zoo.

And nice flowers

And a nice playground.

This is in Hangang Bridge. Too bad our visit was not on time when they usually do their fountain and lights show

Walking around Lotte World Jamsil. We missed the cherry blossoms by a week

Thank you to Tito Bewoo for accommodating us and Kuya Senen and Ate Lorna.