London Travel Tips for First-Timers

If you're reading this, then you're probably doing a lot of research on your upcoming London trip. I myself spent hours going on different sites and reading various blogs to help me and hubby plan for our vacation last November 2018. So here's a list of some of my tips to make your planning a bit easier based on my personal experience.

KEEP MY PASSPORT Service When Applying for a UK Tourist Visa

My husband availed the Keep My Passport service when we applied for a UK Tourist Visa. The thing is, it's so hard for him to apply for any visa since he's always traveling for work. So when we saw that they had this option, we definitely took advantage of it.

Applying for a UK Tourist Visa in the Philippines

By the time this post comes out, hubby and I will be in London for a glorious vacation away from the kids! lol ;p Actually, we're celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary although a bit earlier. Our anniv is in February but I don't think I can handle freezing London in winter.

Anyway, the first step is of course getting a tourist visa and I handled everything for me and my husband. Siyempre, he'll be paying for the trip so it's the least I can do right? ;p

Tokyo Travel Diaries: Harry Hedgehog Cafe in Harajuku

Animal cafes are all the rage in Japan, but I've honestly never been interested in visiting one (I'm scared haha). But my friend, who I was with during my last visit to Tokyo, is super into it and made it a point to include this in our itinerary. She dragged me to a regular cat cafe, a Bengal Cat and Owl cafe, and finally to a hedgehog cafe!

Tokyo Travel Diaries: Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Autumn is definitely my favorite season. I just love how the weather is cold, but not too cold. How the leaves are all red and yellow. How I can finally wear all my coats and sweaters lol! I'm sure Japan is one of the top destinations during fall/winter, and one of the places I visited during my last trip to Tokyo was the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden.

A day at the Australia Zoo

I grew up watching Steve Irwin and all his Crocodile Hunter adventures on TV. I remember when he died in that tragic accident, I couldn't believe it and was so heartbroken. Anyway, it's always been a dream of mine to visit the Australia Zoo which is owned by the Irwin family. We weren't able to visit the first time we went to Brisbane, but luckily we were able to come back a year later and this time I made sure not to miss it!

Our day at Ocean Park Hong Kong

This past summer, we went to Hong Kong to celebrate my son Sabre's 7th birthday. It was originally supposed to be an entire Disneyland trip, where we would stay in the Explorers Lodge Hotel for 3 days and get the 2-day theme park ticket. But then I was surprised when my two older kids said they didn't want to go to Disneyland anymore (probably since they've already been there a few years ago) and would much rather go to Ocean Park.

The last time I visited Ocean Park was years ago when I was still a teenager. Hubby's last time was way back when he was 7 years old! Plus, hubby and I went to Disneyland a few months before to celebrate my birthday, so we were totally onboard with just going to Ocean Park instead.

Our stay at Pico Sands Hotel

Our last hurrah for the summer was a trip to Pico de Loro to celebrate hubby's birthday. We've been here several times in the past, but this was our first time to stay in Pico Sands Hotel.

Our stay at Cala Laiya

I was looking for beach recommendations somewhere in Batangas and found Cala Laiya through one of my mommy groups in Facebook. I wanted to try it since it was new and luckily they had an available room when I inquired.

After I posted some pics in my IG, a lot of people messaged me asking about the place, so I made sure to blog about it soon ;p

Our stay at Hong Kong Disney Explorers Lodge

For our son Sabre's 7th birthday, we decided to just go to Hong Kong for a family vacation. Personally, I think I've become more practical through the years since his Ate Miley also didn't have a big party when she turned 7. We just celebrated in McDonald's because she wanted to have her own room as her main gift. I guess going on a trip was also a good idea since Sabre's birthday is during the summer. So it was the perfect time to travel since they wouldn't have to miss school or anything.

Anyway, I definitely wanted to book in a Disney hotel even for one night since the kids had so much fun the last time when we stayed in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. This time, I wanted to try the Explorers Lodge since it's the newest hotel which only opened last year (April 30, 2017).

Featuring an “adventure” theme, the resort’s third hotel sits on a breathtaking waterfront location and has 750 rooms, three restaurants, four gardens, and an outdoor swimming pool. The exploration theme expands to the four unique tropical climates of Asia, Oceania, South America and Africa.

Our stay in APA Hotel (Tokyo, Japan)

I'm back! I know I haven't been blogging as much lately, and it's mainly beacuse I've just been enjoying the summer break with the family. We just came back from Brisbane a few weeks ago and we're actually leaving again in a couple of days to celebrate Sabre's 7th birthday! So I've been really busy packing because I'm so OC and I need to fix all the kids outfits and snacks and everything else in between!

Well if you're following me on Instagram, then you might remember me taking a little trip to Tokyo late last year. I've been actually seeing so many people in Japan right now because of cherry blossom season which is giving me total travel envy!

Anyway, if you're planning a trip to Japan soon, I just want to share where me and my friend stayed in Tokyo. My friend was actually the one who booked in an APA Hotel (via Agoda) which is located in Higashi-Shinjuku Kabukicho.

Toronto Trip: An afternoon at Centre Island

Centre Island is just a few minutes away from downtown Toronto by ferry. It is home to family-friendly attractions, loads of green space, bicycle paths, eateries and more. After being in Toronto for more than a week, it was definitely a great escape from all the hustle and bustle of the city.

Toronto Trip: Exploring the Royal Ontario Museum

To be honest, I'm not such a fan of museums. I actually like history, but sometimes I get bored easily and would rather just take photos. Hubby, on the other hand, loves going to museums. He explores every little nook and cranny, checks out all the displays, and reads all those little information cards that explain what the exhibit is all about. Most of the time, I just sit down somewhere and wait for him until he's done lol. ;p

Toronto Trip: CN Tower

I really like visiting towers when in a different country (like in Seoul and Tokyo) so I can see the view of the city from way up high. When we were in Toronto, the CN Tower was definitely on top of our itinerary, considering it is the city's most famous landmark.

Downtown Toronto: Things to See and Do

I'm a city girl at heart and I just love walking around bustling streets, surrounded by shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, and offices. Downtown Toronto is no exception, with it's many attractions that offer such a huge array of things to do to.

Toronto Trip: The Distillery District

Just remembered I still have a bunch of travel posts from late last year when we visited Toronto. Here's my travel diary when we went to The Distillery District neighborhood, which is a national historic site and home to quaint cobblestone streets.

Toronto Trip: The charming town of Niagara-on-the-Lake

Before seeing the Niagara Falls, we first headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake (the historic town ranked as Canada’s #1 Food & Wine Destination by TripAdvisor) for some sightseeing and wine tasting.

Toronto Trip: Niagara Falls

I think a trip to Toronto wouldn't be complete without seeing Niagara Falls. It's definitely part of my bucket list and I'm so happy I was finally able to see the majestic falls up close during our vacation two months ago.

Montréal Travel Diary

During our vacation in Toronto, we managed to squeeze in a short trip to Montreal which is about 5.5 hours away by car.

Temple of Leah in Cebu

We took a quick trip to Cebu last week during the kids' sem break. To be honest, I didn't really plan an itinerary since we've been to Cebu so many times before and have already seen almost all the tourist attractions. However, one place we did visit was Temple of Leah, which is dubbed as the Taj Mahal of the Philippines.