Thailand 2019: Bangkok City Center

The rest of my trip to Bangkok was spent on eating Thai food (pad thai and mango sticky rice, yum!), getting massages, and visiting markets (Chatuchak) and shopping malls (Icon Siam). 

One unique thing we did was try Dialogue in the Dark. It's a one-hour experience where you would be navigating and exploring different places in the dark to give you a glimpe of how it would be like to live without the sense of sight. You would also be given a cane and a blind tour guide to accompany you. At first, it was very difficult to move in the dark since I couldn't see at all--even if you open your eyes, you would only see darkness--but after a while, it somehow became easier. The blind lady who accompanied us was very patient, and even with her disability, she was able to navigate pretty well. After this experience, I got a newfound appreciation for my eyes and realized that I'm blessed to be able to see the things around me. I highly recommend this experience to anyone who's open to try new things!

That's it for my Bangkok trip! Will be posting my Japan trip next!

Thailand 2019: Suhring

This is definitely one of the best best best meals ever! Suhring is a two-star Michelin restaurant and belongs to the World's Top 50 Restaurants in 2019. We had a wonderful nine-course meal, which took us almost three hours to finish! Each of the dishes were very innovative and perfectly crafted. Every bite was like an explosion of flavors⁠—I loved every bit of the experience! The restaurant is a beautiful glass house surrounded by lush greeneries, which made the meal even more enjoyable.  

Before we had lunch, we joined a yoga class at Trika Yog. The class focused more on deep stretches rather than traditional yoga poses, which I don't see very often, but the instructor was great and guided each student in the class well.

Thailand 2019: Ayutthaya

Since my first visit to Bangkok last 2018, I have been wanting to visit Ayutthaya because of its historical significance. I booked a day tour and visited Wat Phutthaisawan, Luang Pu Thuat Market (where we had lunch), Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Mahathat, and Wat Phra Ngarm. Most of these sites have Buddha structures, with the one on the tree at Wat Ratchaburana the most popular. We spent an entire day in Ayutthaya, and when we got back in Bangkok, we had a relaxing massage! 

Thailand 2019: Cooking Class

This is the third time I signed up for a cooking class during my travels. The first one was in Ho Chi Minh, the second one was in Bali, and the third one's here in Bangkok! I noticed that I'm slowly enjoying preparing food in the kitchen! 

On my first day in Bangkok, I booked a class at Silom Thai Cooking School. The preparation area was very nice and clean, and the chef very friendly and approachable. I found the class a bit fast paced though—while I was still slicing and chopping the ingredients, the chef was already explaining the next steps! It was perfectly okay though as I was able to catch up easily. The class had to be fast paced because we had to prepare five dishes under three hours! Not an easy feat for a beginner like me! When the session was over, I felt so proud of myself to have prepared these yummy dishes! The dishes I made were: Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, Green Curry Chicken, Red Curry Chicken, and Dessert Rubies in Coconut Milk.

Spartan Race 2019 RD Hill

A day after my birthday, I flew to Cebu for the Spartan Race. Last year, I entered the Sprint Category in Alviera, Pampanga, where I ran 6km and completed 23 obstacles. This time, I went one level higher and joined the Super Category covering 13km in distance and more obstacles. Although I allotted more time to train for this race (around three weeks) compared to last year where I practically had zero training, I was able to complete more obstacles last year. The terrain in RD Hill in Cebu was very muddy, and every step was a challenge. We had to cross lakes, and rivers, and sometimes had to walk on waist deep mud where your entire legs get stuck with every step. The obstacles were also much more difficult. Because of the mud, the bars, the ropes, and the weights were all very slippery and hard to grip. 

Despite all these, I still had so much fun! The unexpected terrain made the victory much more satisfying. There's another race coming this October and I want to push my limits even further and join the Beast Category. It's a 21km race with 30 obstacles. I also want to complete the Trifecta this year, but the only way to make this possible is if I join the Sprint a day after I complete the Beast. I haven't made up my mind yet, but this is certainly a possibility. I guess we'll just see how it goes!

Bucket List

Traveling has always been one of my greatest passions. I enjoy discovering new places, and immersing myself in different cultures. And the more I travel, the more I want to see the rest of the world. 

Experiences matter a lot to me, which is why I'm more willing to spend my money on funding my trips, than on material things. This is also the reason I decided to keep this blog. I suck at writing but I wanted to remember everything about my travels as much as I can. I've been to quite a lot of places but my feet are still itching to explore what else the world has to offer. Here, I listed the top things I want to do and I hope I get to do all of them in my lifetime!

27th

I usually don't give a big fuss about my birthday. Every year, there are no parties, no celebrations, nothing-- just a simple dinner with the family. I treat it just like any other day. I mean, what's so special about it anyway? Everybody gives you extra attention, which does nothing except make me feel awkward.  

This year, however, was different. 

I realized that my birthday is an opportunity to celebrate the blessings I received through the years. It's a brilliant excuse to gather all the people I love in one place and to enjoy each other's company. Although my parents were away on a trip, and it was just me and my brother at home, I still felt complete and very much loved. On the eve of my birthday, I celebrated with my close friends at Tacoway, and the following day, there was a simple celebration in the office. There were a lot of surprises that I didn't expect, especially from people who took the extra mile to make me feel special. I've never felt more loved. Of course, the day didn't end without me thanking the Lord for everything He has given me, as I do everyday. 

See? Celebrating my birthday isn't so bad after all. In fact, it was awesome! Next year, please come sooner!

La Union 2019: Day 2

We woke up bright and early the next day, excited for brunch at Choka (this was mostly just me, lol). We had a wonderful view of the sea while enjoying the dishes we ordered, which was my primary consideration when I chose this place. And have I mentioned that it was insanely hot in La Union? We couldn't bear the heat that we desperately looked for a place with air conditioning. There was only one place we could think of-- Coffee Project. When we arrived, the place was full! We had to wait for around 30 minutes before we got to be seated. Unfortunately for us, it was still scorching hot even with the air conditioning on!

The entire afternoon, we just lounged in our hotel and swam a little. And for dinner, we had ribs at Mommy Lu's-- the best ribs I've tried in my life! The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce was amazing. Really, our experience would've been awesome if not for the smell of a dead rat that lingered during our meal. Lol. Still, the ribs at Mommy Lu's are the best! We then had a few cocktails at Surf Shack before calling it a night. Note to self: order a pitcher of Pink Eye next time!    

On our last day, we decided to stop by Baguio on our way back to Manila. We had a nice, sumptuous lunch at Hill Station, and ordered some hot chocolate at Chocolate de Batirol so we have something to drink during the long drive back. When we checked Waze, we were surprised to see that it would take us over 6 hours to get to Manila when it was supposed to be only 3 hours! Apparently, Kennon road was closed so we had to drive all the way back to La Union and take an alternative route to get to Manila. Lol. The trip was short but sweet. And I'm glad to spend time with these people who I've known for more than two decades.

I'm traveling to Japan with the same group of friends this September, so stay tuned!