US 2019: Orange County

On my last day in the States, I took my time packing my things, and getting ready. I even got to squeeze in some episodes of The Blacklist. My uncle had to go to work so he couldn't show me around the city during the day. To pass the time, I walked to Target and grabbed some stuff for my family back home. After work, my uncle picked me up and we had dinner at the newly opened branch of Porto's at Buena Park, then drove to Anaheim for a quick stroll at Downtown Disney. While walking around, I saw this place called The Void, and they currently offer Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire (according to their website, they also have a Ghostbusters themed one). I read about it when I was in LA. Basically, It's a fully immersive VR experience-- you can see, feel, and smell things. We were given a mission, and we had to complete it by disguising as Storm Troopers. It felt so real, like I was in the Star Wars universe! Seriously, after the experience, I could not stop talking about it. It was truly the perfect way to end my US trip!

I feel like I was able to do so many things and visit so many places in just two weeks. To sum it up, my trip started in Las Vegas, then we went to Page, Arizona, then LA, then I flew to San Francisco, then flew back to LA, then drove to San Diego, and last stop was Orange County.

Harbin Day 5

Now back in Beijing for a day of shopping! We went to The Plaza and the Silk Market to do some shopping and had wonderful Chinese food for lunch where they serve the best dumplings. We stayed at Marco Polo Parkside Hotel and our rooms were spacious and super cozy. We would have wanted to stay longer in Beijing but since we availed the services of a travel agency, we couldn't change the itinerary and flight details. Before we knew it, it was time to go. The trip was super enjoyable, and the memories I made were one-of-a-kind. Plus, it was my first time to see snow!

Definitely looking forward to my next trip in March!

Harbin Day 4

Up early today to ride the snowmobile to Yangcaoshan mountain. The ride was exhilarating and scary because of the unexpected twists and turns! It was so much fun! The view up the mountain was amazing, definitely worth suffering the cold for. Lol.

We rode the snowmobile again going down the mountain and had to walk the entire stretch of China Snow Town to get to our hotel taking photos along the way. We then checked out from the hotel, had a quick lunch, and rode a bus going to Mudanjiang Airport for our flight to Beijing.

Harbin Day 3

After breakfast, we checked out from Sheraton Hotel in Harbin and went on a 6.5-hour bus ride to China Snow Town stopping by a ski resort along the way for lunch. We were informed by our tour guide that we would be walking the entire stretch of China Snow Town for 20 to 30 minutes in the freezing cold with our luggage in tow to get to our hotel. Surprisingly, the walk wasn't as bad as expected. Although the cold was sometimes difficult to bear, it was quite fun actually! The houses and shops looked adorable with snow covering their roofs. It was interesting to see street vendors selling frozen fruits and ice cream no longer needing a freezer-- the goods were just placed on tables! 

We arrived at the hotel late afternoon and had little time to go around the village before dinner starts. We still did anyway. Lol. 

Harbin Day 2

Now this is when the fun begins! This day was pretty exciting because our itinerary was packed with lots of places to visit. But before going anywhere, we had to have our winter gear ready. Apparently, everything we brought from Manila weren't enough for Harbin's subzero temperatures. We had to make a quick stop at a local store selling winter clothes to buy thicker ones. 

We then headed to St. Sophia Cathedral (this used to be an Orthodox church and was now turned into a museum), had lunch at an Irish restaurant, visited Sun Island, dropped by the Harbin Opera House, enjoyed a hotpot dinner at an ice room at Shangri-la Hotel Ice Palace, and went to the Grand Ice and Snow World.

Harbin Day 1

I noticed I haven't posted photos for most of my travels last year (Bali, Cebu, etc) so I want to make sure I post about my Harbin trip this time. Sorting photos take forever and editing them one by one is sooo time consuming that I'd rather lie in bed and watch Supergirl or HTGAWM. Eventually I decided to post photos here without editing them cause I'm just too lazy. Lol.

Okay, so on to my trip: we spent the first day of our trip in airports. There is no direct flight to Harbin so we had to take a connecting flight via Beijing. We had a lot of time to kill at Beijing airport so I took the liberty of walking around the huge airport. Saw some interesting things here and there (indoor garden anyone?). The day was exhausting but hey, at least we arrived safe and sound!

Life Updates

(Image from google.com)

Some updates about me:

1. I danced in front of a lot of people-- in a panda costume no less! Oh my gosh-- I still can't believe I did it! Okay, one thing about me is I'm very bad at dancing. I guess all the zumba classes I attended paid off because the people who saw me dance said I did good. I still get embarrassed thinking about it. Lol.

2. Arrived in Legazpi yesterday after a week long stay in Manila. My scheduled flight to Legazpi was two days ago. Everything was going smoothly until the pilot announced that we couldn't land in Legazpi because of the strong winds. We had to go back to Manila and reschedule our flight BUT the next available flight was Friday and I could no longer extend my stay in Manila because I was already gone for far too long. I decided to reroute my flight to Naga (there were available seats for the flight yesterday) and took a two hour land trip to Legazpi. It was completely exhausting. But I'm glad I made it home safe and sound!

3. Booked a trip to Harbin this December. Something to look forward to!

Quitinday Hills

I had quite an exciting weekend two weeks ago because Ryan visited me in Legazpi *cue happy dance*! I brought him to Quitinday Hills because we were itching for an adventure. The trek was relatively easy and the view from the top was amazing. Planning to come back here with a picnic blanket, and some snacks and cold drinks in hand!

Didn't edit some of the photos because I'm too lazy to do it lol.

Boracay 2016

My most relaxing trip to date (and probably my favourite) was my trip to Boracay with friends last June. Since all of us have been to Boracay countless times before, we didn't feel the need to explore the place and try the water activities. Every day, we had the same routine - get up at 10am, grab breakfast at the hotel, relax inside our hotel room for a few hours, get a late lunch, chill by the beach while having afternoon snacks and drinks, swim during sunset, and then grab an early dinner. I've never felt so relaxed in my life! I think I want to make this a yearly tradition. Who's with me? Lol.

A Week in Singapore

I've been to Singapore several times, but none of those previous trips ever lasted more than four days—so when I found out that I was going to be there for a week, I thought it would be boring. What I didn't realize back then was that, although Singapore could be considered quite small, you can never run out of places to visit and things to do.

We met up with a few friends who showed us around and brought us to places popular among locals (and of course, thanks for letting us stay in your apartment for an entire week!). During this trip, I could say that I got to experience Singapore in an entirely different way—taking trains to travel from one place to another (I now have the train stations almost-memorized!), and stopping by hole-in-the-wall kopi tiams for breakfast. Even though we've been to most of the touristy places before, we still didn't mind coming back to Orchard Road, Haji Lane, Universal Studios, Adventure Cove Waterpark, and Marina Bay Sands.

Phuket Day 1

Crossed another country off my list -- Thailand! Although I didn't visit the country's capital which is Bangkok (I'm saving that for another time!), Phuket is just as exquisite with the crazy shopping, the insanely spicy food, and the pristine white-sand beaches.

Taipei Day 3

For our third and last day in Taipei, we made sure to visit the popular sights and landmarks in Taiwan. We couldn't go home without seeing the Chiang Kai Shek Hall or the Taipei 101, right? :)

Birthday Girl

It came as a big surprise when my parents asked me if I wanted to spend my birthday in Singapore. Well, why not? We spent three days there, mostly just eating and shopping. Lol. If I remember correctly, this was my fourth visit to Singapore. I didn't actually expect that I'd still be amazed at how beautiful the place is. And everything's just so efficient and organized! I mean, in my entire stay, I didn't see any traffic in the streets. In fact, it's very fast and easy to travel from one place to another. And plants are everywhere, even in the busiest of streets!

I had a simple dinner with my parents on my birthday at Pizzeria Mozza in Marina Bay Sands (review coming soon!). Thinking that the weather in Singapore would be the same in Manila (back when it wasn't raining that much yet), I packed only thin and lightweight pieces. Wrong move! It was chillier there, and it rained everyday during our stay. It was lucky that the rain only lasted a few hours each time, so we were still able to go around the city.

May Day

I happily spent the first day of May in the shores of Boracay with my closest friends, and it was such an unforgettable experience! This was my first out-of-town trip with college friends, and I loved every minute of it! How I wish the trip would've lasted longer! When we arrived, we were surprised by the horrendous amount of seaweed in the water (see photos). From what I remember, they weren't this many when I last went there.

The island is becoming more and more polluted as time goes by. Some people prefer going to Palawan these days because of the clearer waters and the more peaceful surroundings. Despite the pollution, the noise and all that, Boracay is still pretty amazing. I enjoyed walking on the fine, white sands and staring into the horizon. And when the sun sets, that's when all the craziness starts. The entire island goes into party mode!

Shoutout to Banana Peel for sending me slippers from their newest collections and for the exciting paraw ride!

Korea Day 1

It was my first time going to Korea last April and the first thing that surprised me was the weather. When we arrived at around twelve midnight, it was freezing! I was literally shivering while walking down the streets. Coming from a country that is scorching hot throughout the year, my body is not very used to the cold. Luckily, I packed a lot of jackets to keep me warm for the entire trip. During the day, the weather was perfect, it was like having air-conditioning outdoors. When night time came, that's when it got chilly. After a while, I got used to it and was enjoying every second outdoors! Now I'm wishing that the Philippines would have the same weather!

Here are photos from our first day. (Click the button below!)

Caramoan Day 1

As promised, here are the photos from the first day of our Caramoan trip! It's a three-hour drive from Legazpi, followed by a boat ride for two to three hours. A glass of iced tea was waiting for each of us when we arrived. We stayed in Tugawe Island Cove which has like, around 200 steps to go to the restaurant and pool. And a little less than that to go to the villas. The orange coverup I was wearing above belongs to my cousin:)

P.S. I hate the reflection of the water on the first photo. It makes me look like I have thick, flabby legs. Haha.

Click the button below to see more photos!

Photos by Anaissa Sy.