Our first day together as a tour group. Oktay, our Tour Director, gave us a sample of his efficiency along with our Coach Driver Serdar. Suitcases out and stacked into our motorcoach and done with breakfast, we checked out of Taslic Hotel and drove along the Sea of Marmara to Gallipoli. Oktay made sure we all understood that this part of Turkey is still on the European side of the Dardanelles, before we made our ferry crossing to Cannakale in Asia Minor. So, it was a day to visit 2 continents today. Europe and Asia. How about that? Just slightly over [View Full Entry]

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It has been nearly 13 years since I first set my eyes on the many minarets of istanbul (check out my earlier blog: ) and this fulfills an earlier dream to revisit this beautiful city. Arriving before 6 am , the city was quiet, just about getting ready to wake up to some frenzied activity. The airport shuttle we booked online was there waiting for Shelly and I, and we breezed from the airport to our Istanbul hotel for the next 3 days. Taslic Hotel may not be as ideally located as we would have wanted, but arriving at 6 am [View Full Entry]

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It took this long for me to think of blogging about one of my favorite places in my own country. Perhaps because I visit it too often, or I took its beauty so much for granted. Tagaytay holds many happy childhood memories for me and my family. Both my parents are from Cavite where Tagaytay is. And many weekends were spent here, in a neighboring town called Silang, Cavite where my grandmother used to live, long before it became a favorite tourist destination. From Manila, it would take about an hour and a half traveling south for 60 km to reach [View Full Entry]

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Our afternoon at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum within the Victoria Peak Tram Complex deserves this separate blog. Meeting over 100 stars, in wax than live, is just over the top. Just a short ferry ride from Kowloon side, a short ride on Bus No. 15, and we were finally at the Peak Tram Terminus. A long line snaked through the street around the Terminus. We skipped the line and instead bought the combination ticket for the tram ride to the top, Sky Terraces and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. While waiting, we browsed through the gallery of old newspaper articles, photos and [View Full Entry]

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Disneyland spells M A G I C. Yes, Virginia, Disneyland is magical for people of all ages. Two years in a row, and we still manage to have fun and feel the magic of Hongkong Disneyland. To prep for a 12 hour Disney adventure, we made sure the kids slept well and had a hearty breakfast to start the day right. Naturally, we went to their choice eating place....... McDonald's. Good thing there was one just a block off our hotel. Unlike yesterday, I had a full breakfast rather than settle for just my usual cup of coffee. In fact, everyone [View Full Entry]

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Dining in Hongkong never fails. And speaking of culinary adventures, 2 Hongkong favorites easily come to mind. I had my fingers and toes crossed that a reservation can be made in either one of the 2 for our New Year's Eve dinner. It was just our luck that a table for 9 pax is available at the Jade Garden Restaurant on the 4th floor of the Star House in Salisbury Road, where diners can enjoy good food as well as a good view of the Victorian Harbour. Our table may not offer the best views, but we had a delightful dinner [View Full Entry]

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We left Manila 5 pm of October 9, 2008 for a nearly 10 hr flight to arrive in Doha, Qatar well before midnight of the same day. I met up with my traveling group where all I had was a list of names and a single cellphone number. But I'm pretty good at this game. I looked around, found all 3 'strangers' in my group. Never missed. A 100% batting average. The fourth guy I spotted when we landed in Doha. I knew it was him the moment we stopped to get our bearings to prepare to leave the airport. Not [View Full Entry]

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Rahnee's in town from Sydney.....working on some project, but with time enough to join a 5 night cruise with me around Vietnam, Sanya (in china) and Hongkong. We took an early flight to Singapore where we were met by our travel agent who then took us to the pier to board our boat. MV Virgo is a huge cruise liner, the biggest in the fleet run by the same group who owns the Genting Resorts. I have long been curious about this cruise liner which offers 2 night to week long cruises around Asia. There was one I particularly liked which [View Full Entry]

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My niece Suzette teased me about my blogging only about my foreign travels, never on my local trips. Gave that a thought, and decided I should have really done some. Not so much for myself, but more for those who may wish to check out some of our local sites. Frankly, I enjoyed these trips around our islands just as much as I enjoyed my foreign travels. Perhaps I only felt compelled to write about my travel adventures when they last longer than 4 nights, never for shorter adventures. But I am changing all that now. So here goes........... I actually [View Full Entry]

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An hour or so away by plane, all of 8 to 9 hours travel by road. Take your pick. We chose to fly, then rent a car from our base which is Fort Ilocandia Hotel and Resort. The hotel is a good base for many day trips to various parts of the Ilocos Region. Top of the list is a visit to Vigan, the only surviving colonial town in the country. Declared a UNESCO Heritage Site, it is a must see for all visitors who want to catch a glimpse of how it was in the 18th and early 19th century. [View Full Entry]

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