Tokyo, Japan

YEYYYY!! I am so happy that my blog is finally up to date! hehehe. Anyway, I made an impulsive decision to go to Tokyo last labor day weekend in May. It wasn't really super last minute but I only planned this maybe 3-4 weeks prior to the trip, when I would usually plan months ahead.

I booked Singapore Airlines as the fare was justifiably reasonable given that it was a long weekend. Plus, the timing was perfect as I left Thursday night and arrived Friday early morning then back to Singapore on Sunday 5pm. That meant I had almost 3 full days for sightseeing and leisure. I was going solo on this trip so 3 days is enough for me, but I definitely need to go back to Japan one day to explore more.
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Boracay, Philippines (February 2015)

Right before I started my new job in March, I decided to go on a 5-day trip to Boracay with my Mom. Luckily, SilkAir now flies direct to Kalibo from Singapore which makes it really convenient.
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Boston, Massachusetts USA

In end-September 2014, I had the chance to travel to Boston, Massachusetts for the first time. Again, this was for training purposes as well. I actually previously worked for SAP. That company has loads of money. We went to Boston just to attend 2 days of training so I was in the US for a total of only 4 days. Upon arrival in the USA, the immigration officer joked and said "can't your company just give you a piece of paper or something for training?" hahaha.
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Mystical Cambodia

In May last year, a month after our UAE trip, we went to Cambodia with my flatmates. Above is myself enjoying the welcome drink at the Raffles Hotel in Phnom Penh hehe. We can never afford to stay at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore so since it was super affordable there, off we went.
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Abu Dhabi, UAE

We drove to Abu Dhabi, around an hour or so from Dubai, to go to the majestic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Breathtaking is an understatement. The mosque was really a sight to behold!
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Dubai, UAE

Well finally! After more than a year since our Dubai trip, I finally found time to post this! Hehehe. I'm sorry! As if anyone really cares haha.
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Cebu - The Tropical Paradise

My first trip for 2014 was to my dad's hometown, Cebu!!! My renter was moving out so I had to accompany my Mom to do inventory. Thus, we took it as a chance to go on a short holiday as well.

I'm sure for most of us foodies, the first thing you think of when you hear Cebu is LECHON (look up and drool). I cannot agree more with Anthony Bourdain that the best roast pork is indeed in Cebu. I've tasted Babi Guling in Ubud, Bali Indonesia and it doesn't compare (haha). My mom knew of a place where they sold whole roasted pork so we checked it out. I'm so sorry I forgot the name of the place but it's near Banilad in Cebu along the main road.
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Malacca (Melaka), Malaysia

Malacca was a revelation. Honestly, I had very low expectations for this place but I ended up loving the place. This was another weekend getaway during my birthday in October. I think we found the hotel+bus package on groupon or some similar website. Thank you Alf for this trip! 

We stayed at the fairly new Hatten Hotel, whose lobby (photo above) smelled like a public restroom. That was really a disappointment as the hotel was not bad plus the rooms were very spacious.
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Phuket, I'm back!

I was back in Phuket for a 3-day weekend getaway in August last year. This is what I love about Singapore actually, there are a lot of weekend places you could go to either by bus, boat or a short plane trip. Phuket is definitely one of the choices for a short holiday.

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Oh Phuket!

I was in Phuket in May and August last year. This post is for our trip in May with my housemates. Our first trip together! We have always wanted to go on a trip since moving in together in Aug 2012 so we were happy we finally got to do it.

L-R: Rachel, Lenin, Krizia and Alfian

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Frankfurt, Germany

This is another draft post I saved in April. Finally, this wraps up our Germany trip - 9 months later! Haha. I have so much backlog ugh! I'll be in Manila this weekend then Phuket the following week so my posts are just piling up! haha.

Anyway, Frankfurt was our last stop for this trip. Johann and my parents' flight were in the morning while mine was at night and my Aunt and Uncle's were the following day. Thus, we managed to squeeze in a day trip in Frankfurt.

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Heidelberg Harvest Festival

(This was a draft post I saved in April. Sorry for the delay. Here we go...)

There were quite a few groceries near our apartment in Heidelberg. One of them was Alnatura (see above photo). It was like an organic health food store. Naturally, almost everything was expensive so I didn't really get to buy anything haha.

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I Left my Heart in Paris...

And now we've come to the most awaited blog post of all (haha)... Paris! I still dream about Paris up to this day. The time we spent in Paris was just not enough and I will definitely want need to go back.

I made sure to make this trip happen and meticulously planned it before our Germany trip. Thank heavens really for the internet I managed to learn everything online and book our trains from Heidelberg to Frankfurt to Paris (it's not realy that difficult :-). As my Mom and Bob have already been to Paris previously, it was just me and Johann on this day trip.



This was in Frankfurt waiting for our train to Paris

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Baden-Baden

Day 5 was our much anticipated trip to Baden-Baden. Initially I had no clue what this town was all about but when I learned that Black Forest cake and the Cuckoo clock originated from here, I was more than excited :-).
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Mannheim Farmer's Market & Schloss Mannheim

Happy 2013! I was consumed by the holidays that I couldn't get on with my blog posts. I wasn't able to go home to the Philippines this time but it's ok. My brother was here on the week of New Year so we celebrated New Year's eve at my cousin's new flat here in Singapore.

I also recently met Instagram haha - another distraction from updating this blog. Like what older people say about this generation, there's just too much going on. Sometimes I reminisce the days when life was simple and a book or a toy kept me happy. Oh well, times have really changed. For the better I guess.

Anyway, like I said on Facebook, I hope we are wiser, kinder, and better in appreciating the people and things around us that truly matter in this new year. Looking back at 2012, I feel really blessed. I may have lost some loved ones but gained new friends and even loved ones as well.

Now back to regular programming... Day 4 of Germany was in Mannheim. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart.

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Prepping for Gold Coast

Crap, a little over 4 years with this blog and I've maximized the storage for photos. I honestly thought it was unlimited. I was uploading photos and I kept on getting this error message below and was hoping it was a bug. I don't know when blogger decided to start storing my photos in Picasa. Argh.

I had no choice but to purchase additional storage space lest I want to lose this blog. It's not exactly expensive but it's still freaking money that recurs every month and I seriously thought blogger is a free service entirely. Working in a software company myself, I do understand they need to start charging for storage space. BUT STILL. I'm pissed. :-P

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North Holland - Zaanse Schans Windmills, Volendam & Marken Island

Day 3 was our most anticipated trip of North Holland. I couldn't wait to see REAL windmills :-)

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Red Light District, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum & Canal Cruise

I'm waiting for my stomach to digest my late lunch of Delimondo corned beef with piping hot rice (hehehe) before I go for a run around the reservoir, so might as well (finally) start my travel blog on my Netherlands trip last October :-).
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Bangkok, Thailand

3 days after we got back from Bali, we were headed to Bangkok. It wasn't a good time actually. The previous night I saw in the news that the rallies were escalating. The problem is we already paid for our tickets & hotel months before and unfortunately we didn't get promo rates. So riot or no riot, we had to be in Bangkok by hook or by crook haha.

Zach was actually on vacation leave for a month that's why we jampacked our travels in April. I also needed a break from work anyway. Bangkok is pretty much like any cosmopolitan metropolis. Very modern but the touch of culture and heritage spells the difference. The food was absolutely the highlight of this trip (haha whats new). Seriously, authentic thai food is the bomb!

It was a big bummer that on our 3rd day in Bkk, everyone in Siam Paragon was asked to go home since the rallyists were invading the area. So we pretty much weren't able to go around anymore for fear of our safety. It was ironic though how the rallyists were causing chaos while the others were celebrating the Songkran "Water" Festival.

Enjoy the pics! Click on the link to Kodak Gallery below and make sure to scroll over the headings to view the titles/comments.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=176isvtt.c4io72it&x=0&y=8xa6j2&localeid=en_US
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Sweet Escape

In a few hours, less than 7 hours to be exact, i'll be boarding an Air Asia flight to Denpasar in Indonesia for a much-needed 4-day holiday in Bali.

Can you believe Air Asia had a S$50net promo for a roundtrip ticket to Bali?! I couldn't believe it as well so when I saw this sale a few months ago I didn't think twice about booking it. C'mon, its 50 freaken dollars hehe. Actually, ours came up to S$75 each because we booked exit seats and return luggage. But still, its way too cheap.

Call it destiny because that same week-period that Air Asia went on sale, Accor Hotels also went on a 3-day ridiculous sale. We were able to book a room in Novotel Nusa Dua for S$65 a night. Now are we lucky or what? :)

Plus, I'm really looking forward to Balinese Babi Guling (Roast Pork). Anthony Bourdain said in his blog that it's the second best roast pork he has ever tasted in the whole world (next to #1's Cebu Lechon in the Philippines), no kidding! Sorry Zach hehe I just want to taste.

See you in 4 days :-)

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