Featuring a Vlogger from the Philippines, from the same hometown as I am, Cebu. It is a tandem vlog of Jen and her son Anton. They both love life and the lessons life gives them, she love fireflies as much as I do. She loves sunsets & most of all, loves adventures. Sharing a photo photos taken during their visit to Singapore. We gave them a tour in Singapore to the most commonly visited places. March 16, 2016 early morning flight to Bangkok. We were ready as early as 4am to go to the Aiport. We chose a budget airline to travel for this trip, thru Tiger Airways and decided for a return trip from Vietnam thru AirAsia. I have traveled Bangkok a few times in the past, but this time, I'm taking family and giving them a tour. Booked our hotels thru Booking.com Arrived Bangkok earlier than scheduled, set my time to one hour back as it is behind Singapore time. Worked on getting to the basement area, got our tokens for the CityTrain, reached the city area in about 30minutes time. Despite the lack of sleep, it was fun knowing it will be a full day of Adventure. I brought along my sister in law, my younger brother and my husband. We listed a few places to see and visit for the day. Most of the places I picked are famous places that are landmarks and listed as best places to see in Bangkok. We managed our way to get to the Train station towards Victory Monument BTS Station. The trains were quite easy to navigate and most of the signs are visible so it is not hard to go about the area based on the directions. After the Grand Palace Tour and resting there for a little while, we then decided to go for the Rivercruise that would take you around the highlights by the River. From Grand Palace, we took a Tuk-tuk and headed towards the River area. When we got there, there were a few shops too that you can buy food, local delicacies, hats, clothes and souvenirs. We bought a few pants that had elephant prints on it. It was cool and very colourful. I have visited Bangkok in the past, it was on a business trip and made great friendships. This visit, I decided to get in touch and meet up that evening to enjoy dinner. My Friend Ratasat asked us to come by Train Night Market. There were lots of options there for food! All these fascinating way of cooking, lots of fresh seafood, Thai food. It was a nice night and great night for a glass of cold drinks. There was music and lots of people there enjoying the night. Our itinerary for the next day would be to travel to the border of Thailand to cross towards the border of Cambodia. As we spent the whole day and night visiting all the sights and top places to go in Bangkok, we went home late night to rest for the night. We are supposed to be at the Hualamphong train station by 5am to catch the train that travels to the border. We will travel at 5:55am towards Aranyaprathet and expected to arrive there at , from there we will go to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. Thinking about walking in between the borders was quite exciting for me. You will be crossing this area that you not in any of the two countries. It sounded dangerous, but it was a feat to conquer. They said there were a lot of other options to travel towards Cambodia but I personally chose to take the train even if it will be slower than all other means as we wanted a first hand experience how people travel. We got there very early and started to look for coffee. We had to get drinks to take with us on the 6 hour train ride. It was indeed a fruitful trip. We arrived the border of Bangkok and crossed the border to go to Cambodia. Will write another entry for the Siem Reap and Phnom Pehn travel. Thanks for reading!
Another trip to Vietnam and this is in SAIGON. It was beautiful country to visit and a nice place to discover amazing places. Enjoy the country with me -- Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, listen), formerly named Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn, listen) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor (Khmer: ព្រៃនគរ), an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955-75. Went to Vietnam for Holidays during the month of December. It was colorful with all the lights and decorations. Bến Thành Market is a large marketplace in the downtown area of Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam in District 1. The market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and one of symbols of Hồ Chí Minh City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, áo dài, and souvenirs, as well as local cuisine. That morning I dared my husband and Sister in law to pack up, go with me on a trip. Then she was like, "Where are we going?" I responded, "We have 4days at hand, it will be the best and perfect time to go on a road trip. Just get your bags pack, I will tell you travel itinerary, just get your passports ready, I will meet you after work to start our trip." We are on trust basis, being the older Sister and knowing they fully trust me to plan on trips, we met 6pm after work and told them we are going to Kuala Lumpur and Melaka for the weekend. This time, no flights. Will take them thru this trip commuting from Singapore to Johor Bahru, then Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur to Malacca, then Malacca back to Singapore. Started the trip by taking the train towards Woodlands, to hop on a bus to go to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. I wrote a separate blog entry for the first part of the trip, which is the travel towards Kuala Lumpur. This entry I am writing now is for Malacca. After we completed our Kuala Lumpur trip, we then travelled by bus towards Malacca. From the terminal, there are a lot of counters for you to buy the tickets and they vary based on the type of bus, luxury type of bus, massage chairs on theirs buses. They come up with really different styles and uniqueness to get people to make their bus line a better choice. So it all boils down to the comfort you want pay for as it is not a mere 30min ride. Travelled southeast 92 miles to get to the beautiful historical and colorful place of Malacca. They are unique for their architecture. The capital is Malacca City, which 235 kilometres (146 miles) north west of Johor's largest city Johor Bahru. places to visit & SEE IN MalaccaThey have their own version of Filipinos "Traysikad" too the difference though is that theirs are extremely creative, with music and of course they have their own themes. They will take you around. I asked how much and he charged me 30 ringgit. Funny, cause that's the same rate as a taxi taking us around town. Accomodations In MALACCAThere are plenty of options for hotels for Malacca. It will be best to book ahead before travel so you have set how to travel to your hotel or have your hotel arrange for pick up. I usually book thru Booking.com since I am Genius member and I get discounts as well as get late check out privileges. I suggest you sign up as a member too. Picked one that is just walking distance from the main city area so we can just roam around anytime. We traveled back to Singapore that afternoon after having lunch at Hard Rock cafe. It was a holiday so it got kind of crowded and coming back to Singapore, you will have to expect longer lines thru immigration. We took the direct bus from Malacca to Singapore, where it goes thru the border, we got off and had to get stamps for the passport in Malaysia then went back in to Singapore. Indeed a fruitful trip.
Long weekends. Yup! Who doesn't love Long weekend right? It was the best time to plan for a trip out of the country to relax, go for a swim, eat out of the country and get awesome spa as well as massage. I love going to Indonesia. It is where I go shopping, and when I meant shopping, it's only for very specific things. I love Indonesia for nice Batik clothes. I love their beautiful decorative pieces, wooden masks as souvenirs. Most of all, I love Indonesia cause I go there to buy my Spa, Scrub and Massage needs. My Husband didn't understand in the past how my addiction for massage and spa has grown over time, until he himself experienced massage in different countries, different traditional massages of each own. Eventually he got addicted to massage, relaxation and spa himself. We picked a simple resort and that weekend we chose to go Batam Island. We traveled from Singapore to Batam, thru HarbourFront Ferries, accessible they . We chose BatamFast Ferries and took the boat towards Sekupang. You will go thru Singapore immigration to Exit out of the country, then when you arrive at the Sekupang station, you will then go thru Indonesian Immigration. Philippine Passport holders do not require a visa. For Americans, they had to pay 20USD at the time of that trip, yet the last few times we went back, he did not have to pay any Visa fees any longer. Picked KTM resort thru Booking.com, I chose that because it is quite secluded and not very near the city, which was the actual point of being in a serene location. The room was cozy and comfortable, it has an awesome view of the swimming pool and the ocean. It was cool especially at night. The resort has a nice restaurant you can relax and chill. Our favourite part of the trip was the water sports they offer. We did Water Skiing too. They had a whole lot of options you can do. The Spa and Massage center offers quite a lot of services and definitely a lot cheaper prices compared to Singapore. Massage is a primary commodity when traveling, there is no way you should skip that part as it is a way to a healthier self. It was a great quick trip out of the busy day to day life. If you want to go for a trip for a few days outside of Singapore to enjoy a peaceful, serene vacation, you can pick this resort. It is easy to travel from Singapore and it is easily accessible from the Ferry Station. If you would like help to book, let me know, I could help book it for you. If not, you can also book thru Booking.com, do sign up for an account.
So what are you waiting for? Start planning and working on your next trip! Enjoy! Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, rising to 1,483 ft (451.9 m), the 88-storey PETRONAS Twin Towers is the crown of the capital city. Inspired by the geometric shape in Islamic art, PETRONAS Twin Towers is a gleaming mega-structure with a striking glass-and-steel combination and floor plans based on an eight-pointed star. I took the photo from the base of the building. The building itself if elegant, the picture could not completely justify how beautiful it trully is, yet this is the closest I could get to show its granduer. The trip to Cambodia was scheduled for a month, we were all quite excited for that project since it is quite a big team to cater too. Technically, it was a business trip but of course, we had weekends to spare for us to go around and explore. When my colleague and I arrived in Phnom Penh, we were trying to look for a place to shop, both of us were looking for some Duty Free shopping area. We found one and we kept saying, "oh it is a little small, maybe a little further, would be a bigger shop." We could moving ahead, until we found ourselves outside the airport! Hahhaha! only then I realized, its' beauty and its simplicity at the same time. We stayed at Hotel Cambodiana and we are booked for a whole month for a project. We arrived on a weekend, which my colleague decided to give us a tour. Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security, politics, economics, cultural heritage, and diplomacy of Cambodia. Once known as the “Pearl of Asia”, it was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina in the 1920s. In Cambodia, one of things I enjoyed, was the food! They serve healthy food. During the whole stay, I felt healthier. Cause they always serve iced tea, which ended my craving for soda. This was so much fun! I actually tried to make these stuff. Its like fresh lumpia in the Philippines. They have all the vegetable, the shrimp, some other stuff I do not really recognize but definitely can eat, then you roll it in that transparent thing! Hahaha! It was fun! First stop was the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is a complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the king of Cambodia. Its full name in the Khmer language is Preah Barum Reachea Veang Chaktomuk. The Kings of Cambodia have occupied it since it was built in 1860's, with a period of absence when the country came into turmoil during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Next stop, they said it was a surprise. They advised to get my heart ready and prepared for this, as it will give me a lot of sad emotions. They took me to one of the famous places to see in Phnom Pehn. TUOL SLENG GENOCIDE MUSEUMThe Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a museum in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The site is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge communist regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. Tuol Sleng (Khmer [tuəl slaeŋ]) means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees" or "Strychnine Hill". It was the actual place where people who died in the Killing Fields were imprisoned. It felt quite heavy for me to bear, walking around these hallways, knowing people were killed and murdered. Life is sad when you are behind thorny + rusty barb wires like these. Can you imagine yourself being deprived of your own freedom? They were taken captive. Some did not even have the time to understand what was happening. It was not a choice. It was not even an option. More painful is when you know you do not even have an assurance that you will be able to escape and go out of that prison and the part of waking up day after day, that today could be the day you are meant to die. It is Painful, but True! This mat, has been preserved and the same mat that was used by the man slaughtered and killed in that bed, in that room. You are allowed to take photos, but not allowed to touch anything at all. We are still born blessed and that we are given our freedom to be able to do our own will. For others, it was not even a choice! Take care of your freedom, it is a GIFT! Freedom restricted? How sad could it be when you are not able to do things that you wanted to do because you are not free at all. Freedom held, freedom purged, freedom you can not even pay for not work for. Life could be so hard to be in a situtation where in you are bound to be behind barb wires, waiting for death. Even escaping meant early death. Would you just choose to wait for your turn to be killed? Or would you be bold enough to escape and die voluntarily earlier that scheduled? As you go inside each room, you will see the deathbed of people slain. You will see an actual photo as well in the wall, of the person who died on that same bed. You still see the tools that were used to kill them. You walk around the room, knowing, on that same floor, blood was shed. Torture facilities at the Tuol Sleng museum. These were chains of the prisoners who died and were mass murdered. It was sad to see. Clothes of the victims who died in the mass killing. These clothes were the clothes worn by the people when they were held captive, till the day of their execution. The school walls, they had to make a way for it to be a whole long prison cell so it is easier for them manage. You can see how small the spaces were for the prisors. A cell that do not have a bed, just dark and cold walls.They sleep eat drink pee in the same place. It was terrible. I can imagine how hard it was for them to experience such torment. After this tour, I had to take time and sit down. I had to cry and let emotions out. It was a place of torment, sadness and pain. But at the same time, it is a place that proved people had hope to survive and had so much faith to keep going despite their situation. It was indeed a different experience, enlightening and inspiring. All Life in this world is important, we need to make sure we place value in it.
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May 2017
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