Shengri Macau

Eine Reise Zu Macau - a July voyage to Macau.

Another oppurtunity to travel presented mid-May lasy 2008. This time in the land where east meets west.

A patchwork metropolis of old and new, a place where Portugal meets China, grilled sardines meets dim sum, and ancient tradition presses against the glitz and glamour of the betting world...my birthday destination in 2008.. Macau!

My "star studded" Bangkok Trip in July 2007 failed in comparison to the cast of Viejeng Macau. Yes, you counted it right, Fourteen! 14 young professionals trooped to the cultural and architectural heritage of Macau on a one intially-sunny-turned-rainy-day in July 2008.

We went to Macau in two batches - Mark was already in Macau even before the 1st batch arrived. First batch comprised of Carla, Charles, Bong, Che and Van while Elsa, Ron, Dex, Lynn, Christian, Mich, Sol and I were the 2nd batch.

We toured all of Macau's tourist spots in 3 days nd 2 nights. We island hopped from Macau Peninsula to Taipa to Coloane and back. We went to Cotai strip, feast at the sights of Venetian Hotel including the St Mark's Plaza. We rode the Gondala in San Luca Canal while listening to very romantic italian song. Of course, the bungy jumping at the Macau tower was included in the Viajeros itinerary.

(Macau July 18-20)

Singapore Once Again

The birthday trip wouldn't be complete without spending it with my brother. From Bangkok, my sister and I went straight to The Waterina in Singapore. Jon was unaware that Jen was with me. Again, the three J's were reunited.

Jen stayed only for 2 nights and a day. We had a sibling lunch date at Gary's, Harbourfront.

July 18, a hectic evening for us. We accompanied Jen to the airport for her flight back to Manila and at the same time, fetch Elena and Elsa who were joining me for 2 days in Singapore.

July 20 was a day spent in Sentosa. The girls blended well with the Singaporeans and had a great time in Sentosa. The day was capped with a Dolphin Show.

July 21 was a city tour day. We visited the different tourist spots and 2 hospitals in Singapore. Afterwhich, we headed to the Night Safari after Elena bought a laptop. A shopping galore at Mustafa ended the night.

July 22, after a few hours of sleep, the girls headed home. When i went back to my brother's place, i was locked out :(. No body was home. Good thing, a friend of mine -Jho - was also in SG and so, i took the oppurtunity to see her. We met at Takayashi and had coffee at Starbucks. By lunchtime, I was reunited with my brother as we had lunch in a Filipino Restaurant. Mall hopping was our next itinerary followed by Pasalubong shopping. Before midnight, i was on my home.

(Singapore, Singapore July 17-22)

Bangkok's Grandeur

The original plan was to travel alone - try something new on my birthday. But, as soon as i got my flight booked and told it to a friend, my friend and her friends decided to tug along. My sister also signed up for the trip. By the end of June, alone became a group of 6. It didn't end in that, because at the airport 6 more friends were on the same flight to Bangkok-what a coincidence! My alone-trip became a barkada trip, which made my birthday trip a lot more fun that what I planned it to be.

My travelmates for the Bangkok trip was composed of Jen (my sister), Sol and Mich (my co-residents) with their friends- Kisseth and Percy, the newlyweds Gigi and Bim with Richmond (our common friend) and Melissa with her husband and child...barkada trip!

Even if my alone trip did not pushed through, at least, I had a first. I celebrated my birthday on the plane..that is a 1st for me! ;p We arrived in Bangkok at past midnight. We were fetched by the Khao San Road Transfer which brought us to Royal Hotel - our official residence in Bangkok . Well, the ride to the hotel was longer that what it should be since the driver mistook our hotel for Royal River Hotel. Eventually, we were brought to Royal Hotel after a lengthy conversation to make the driver understand that it was not our hotel.

At the hotel, the baggage boy got mad at our 10Baht tip (sorry, we haven't had our money exchanged to smaller Baht denomination, 100Baht is too much for a tip considering we only had backpacks)

Breakfast at Royal Hotel was a feast. My sister and I had 3 sets of breakfast - loading up for a tiring day. ;p City Pillar Shrine was our 1st stop before the Ministry of Defense. We took snap shots in front of Sanam Luang. The rest of the day was spent in temple hopping starting with the Emerald Buddha Temple at the Grand Palace. After setting our tongues on fire by eating Thai cuisine, we rode a Thonburi and had our Chai Praya River tour. We had our 1st BTS ride at Saphin Taksin. We headed to Phaya Thai where we visited the Erawan Shrine, Democracy Monument, Suan Pakkad Palace Museum, Baiyoke Tower and Pratunam Market. The rain poured by early evening which made hailing a taxi cab an impossible task; thus, we ended up renting a Tuktuk for out ride home. It was like a carnival ride - Hold on to your seats! (Bangkok, Thailand July 15-17)

Singapore - Gong Xi Fa Cai

"Gong Xi fa Cai" in Singapore is described as the ultimate family lakwatsa by par. The Waterina is my brother's humble abode in Singapore and became our official residence during our 10-day stay. Singapore is where the family celebrated Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year.

Singapore is such a small state but believe me when I say, it can not be toured in 3 days - that is if you want to see and enjoy all of its attractions. There are a lot of tourist spots to explore. Sentosa, alone, can not be fully explored in a day (for us, that is :P) The activities are numerous and the sites are beauties to behold.

Day 1: Late Late Late
Only a few hours were left for the day, since our flight was very much delayed. We arrived in Singapore 4-5 hours after our original ETA. Inspite of the long hold-out time at the airport, the wait was all worth it. The family spent dinner for the 1st time again after 6 months of being away from each other.

Day 2: Heart's Day at the Marina

We toured the city in our own way. We started dropping by Suntec and visiting the Giant wishing fountain. We all agreed, this is the best way to start the tour :P. After whispering to the fountain our ardent wishes, we went to the Koi Garden and had lunch at The Marina. We had fun taking snap shots as we walk towards Esplanade. The heat of the sun compelled us to try the 1SGD ice cream in a waffer. It was too refreshing that we each had another serving. The Merlion was our next stop after the sweet-binging. At the Merlion, we mingled with the Singaporean students and took "concept pics" with the Merlion. We crossed the street and started exploring the Zodiac sign park across the Raffles St. We wlaked and walked and walked... took snap shots in front of various museums, parks and buildings until we ended up crossing a very historical bridge near One Fullerton Hotel. We ended the day enjoying the night skyline of the city.

Day 3: A taste of Singapore's Cinema

It was date day for the family. We spent the morning having leisure time by the pool, the afternoon exploring Harbourfront and the evening watching a movie.


Day 4: First Time at Sentosa

Sentosa Day for the family. We bought Imbiah tour and maximize the day. We would like to bask in the sun and enjoy the beach but we were not prepared for that so we agreed it will be our next IT.
Day 5: The Aviary and Waterworld

We visited Jurong Bird Park in the morning and had lunch picnic style in one of its garden. Enjoyed the very educational bird show on the same day. In the afternoon, the family decided to visit the Underwater World. We enjoyed the Underwater World so much that we failed to watch the Dolphin Show. The evening was capped with a Water, Light and Laser show. My sister loved the show so much . Sadly, our digicams were empty batts, thus, we failed to capture in video the wonderful show.

Day 6: A Day at the Zoo and a Chinese Catholic Mass

We woke up alte and attended the next available mass at St. Francis. We went to hear mass there since according to its schedule the mass at 9AM will be in English- only to find out that the mass was in Chinese..Goodluck! Well, whatever language the mass is celebrated, the essence remains and everyone is welcome to attend.

After the mass, we headed straight to Singapore Zoo. We had the luxury of a front row seat for the Elepahant Show. Galing! We had leisure walks around the Zoo and just as we were about to leave the Outback, rain poured hard. Our trip was cut short; thus, we spend more time sitting in the resto than seeing animals in actions. By evening, we were feasting our eyes with the night creatures at Night Safari and indulged ina wonderful "creatures of the night show"... look out for the lost snake, people!

Day 7-8; Famila Day out to KL
Day 9: Shopping day at Mustafa and Luck Plaza ;p

Day 10: Making the most of the Last Day in SG

The family bonded and wade in the Waterina pool, making the most of the hours that were left for us until we depart for home.

Kuala Lumpur's One Fine Day

Walking through the streets of Kuala Lumpur gave a feeling that we were in a familiar place. Yup, my memory serves me right, for Filipinos out there, it was like walking through the streets of Sta Cruz.

We were adamant at first to push through with the trip. However, taking all factors into consideration, we went and took the 1st available train schedule going to KL. We slept most during the trip and woke up only twice, once was when the Malaysian Immigration stamped our passports and the next when we were to disembarked.

It was early morning when we arrived in Malaysia. We walked through its paved streets and find our way to the 1st Catholic Church that we can find. We did not had a hard time finding one, as if our feets were pre-instructed, in a few minutes we were right in front of St John the Baptist Church.

We can still feel the early morning dew; hence, it was too early to visit KL's pride. We leisurely walked KL streets until we reached Petalling Street. We stayed for a while and took snapshots before we proceeded to our next stop.

Merdeka Square and Sultan Abdul Samad building was next in our list of must-see. At the Independence Square, we rested and posed some more.

It was almost lunch time when we headed to Suria KLCC. We had our Malaysian cuisine and had a chance to see and adore the Petronas Tower- indeed a beauty to behold.







(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Feb 19, 2007)

Hong Kong Globetrotters

"Globetrotter" is what my brother tagged Elena, Elsa and I. It all started when we showed our support to our dear Elena and went with her all the way to HK.

We left before midnight of July 18, 2006. Cebu Pacific 5J 143 arrived late and so was, our flight. We landed at Hong Kong International Airport by midnight. A kababayan fetch us at the airport and led us to our official vacation house. It was a 3-room condo unit on the 5th floor of a building found at Tai Wo St. corner Wan Chai Road. It is very accessible to major transportation units - near MRT station and bus stops.

Armed with only a map and an octupus card, we toured the city the next day. We met Elena at HK park after her exam. While she was knocking her brain out in answering her exam, we were enjoying the sites at HK park. We've witnessed a number of pre-nups, family day-outs, barkada gimmicks and picture-addicts tourist just like us. Elena finally aarived at around 1PM and joined us in our 1st HK lunch.

After the "diet" lunch we hiked, as in hiked the city, until we reached #33 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong or most popularly called The Peak Tram.

The Peak Tram is a double reversible funicular railway, 1.4km long with a gradient of 4-27 degrees, rising from 28m to 396m above sea level. It was said that the tramway was officially opened by then Governor, Sir William Des Vouex in May 1888...talk about history!

The Peak Tram

How to get there:

(1) on foot: exit from MTR Central Statio J2 or walk across the HK Park from Admiralty (approx 10 mins)

(2) by Shuttle bus: #15C from Star ferry Concourse in Central

(3) by taxi :p

The trip was awesome. The feeling of being hauled up perpendicular to the ground was something everyone should try. The view is exhilarating especially at the top. At the Peak, we maximize our stay by trekking the 2.6Km road encircling the mountain top. It was unintentional at first, but as we go farther and farther from the Tram station, we decided to finish the trek (not knowing that it was inded a 2.6km long)

The view was magnificent. So magnificent that we took half of our trip pictures during the trek. We can't stop posing at every oppurtunity we had. Talk about loving the camera.

It was mid-afternoon when we decided we had enough of the Peak and heade to Kowloon Island. We were the shiny happy people by the time we reached Kowloon Island. No time for tiouch ups ha!

At Kowloon Island, we took time to see what Temple street has to offer. As thrifty as we were, believe it, we didn't bought a thing. Here is where we decided to have our authentic Hong Kong cuisine. We must be very hungry 'coz we consumed all our food in no time.

We ended our day by hanging out by the Pier. We were lucky, we were arrived in time for the Aquafantasia and light show . We had our leisure walk at the Avenue of Stars, as if our energy were not yet consumed by our dawn till dusk activities. The plan to end our day by visiting a local night club didn't push through. All because Harry Potter 2 was showing on HBO that night. :P... or our tiredness overcome us when our backs were laid to our comfy beds and used Harry as the excuse. :)

The next 2 days in HK were spent in Lantau Island and Ocean Park. Just like our 1st day, the next 2 days were filled with dawn till dusk activities that left no room for idle time ;p

(Hong Kong July 18-21, 2006)

Jakarta's Namaste

On Dec 26 2004 and January 2005, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The epicentre was located under sea water at 3.32N 95.85E. This is the 4th largest earthquake in the rold since 1900. The earthquake generated tsunamis which swept across the Indian Ocean within hours. Over 120,000 people lost their lives in this disaster. Areas near the epicentre in Indonesia, especially Banda Aceh, were devastated by the earthquakes and Tsunamis. The Tsunamis also affected Phuket and surrounding area in Thailand, Penang in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India and places as far as Somali in Africa.

Summer of 2005 paved way to an oppurtunity to help people beyond limits of my native land. My friends and I travelled 2,782 km. (1,729mi) to be one of our countries' envoy to Indonesia. This came true due to the efforts of East Asia Women Peace Award Foundation, INC and in cooperation with Philippine Airlines.

Thanks to Ms Roselyn E. Magsaysay (Chairperson/Founding president) and Ms Minerva De Leon (Secretary General) of East Asia Women Peace Award Foundation, INC and Ms. Lenny Prasetya of KIWANI, Indonesia, for making the Jakarta Medical Mission a reality.

We stayed at Jl Purwakarta 1, Jakarta 10310 Indonesia through the efforts of Sr Petronella Lie, SCMM of KOPTARI (Konferensi Pemimpin Tarekat Religius Indonesia). The original plan was to bring our team to Banda Aceh. However, due to security and transportation problems in Banda Aceh, our medical mission was relocated to Jakarta, Indonesia.

(Jakarta, Indonesia April 15 -18, 2005)