Our catamaran took us on a day trip of Phi Phi and the nearby islands including Maya Beach which was featured in the Leo Di Caprio movie “The Beach” . My second time here. It was a long day of swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, beer-drinking and beach bumming. Life is a beach indeed. The little boy in our family was most active in all departments except in the beer-drinking. Gave us a scare one moment when we couldn’t find him for some 2 minutes. Turned out someone from the boat crew took him snorkeling a little away from the bunch to a spot with better fish-viewing. The boatman was actually quite impressed with our little man’s swimming and zest for water adventures. Still, we got worried for some moments.
Such clear, turquoise water!From Country to Country. From Beer to Beer.
It was a long day. We started at 9am and called it a day around 5pm. In and out of water, hopping from island to island, capped by a rocky boat ride on our way back to pier. It was exhausting but so much fun. Family bonding to the core. I couldn’t remember how many island stops we made. There were at least 5. The high temps didn’t even deter us from basking under the sun with a bottle of cold beer or cantaloupe juice in hand. Every so often, the boat crew would serve us slices of sweet pineapple and watermelon. There was also an endless stock of cold drinks from coconut water, cantaloupe, orange and pineapple juice. Lunch was delicious too, buffet-served in a restaurant in one of the islands.
First of Many DipsKayaking Family
Family trips are my thing. Staying together 24/7, sharing all meals, enjoying the same outdoor activities and conversations running from the most mundane to random topics like travel blunders and celebrity crushes. This is where and when you get your updates on most everyone especially the younger members of the family. Growing up, their dreams and perspectives are ever changing and the family trips help us keep apprised on their goings-on and evolving characters. As a child, I still recall our fond memories of the family beach outings, picnics, concerts, reunions, sports activities and special dinners and stuff.
Life is a beach!Water Taxi
Koh Phi Phi is a good island/boat destination but it has also become so popular it seems to have transformed into a party island. Last time I was here was 10 years ago in 2013. Even then, it was kind of busy. I am glad we chose to stay in the quiet part of Phuket. Mai Khao is isolated from the more popular beach resorts and an hour’s drive from the resort town of Patong. Judging by the crowds in the street markets, local beaches and the boat traffic between the nearby islands, the Phuket evenings must be so vibrant and festive, if not noisy. All told, the memories we created here should serve the “little boy” well into adulthood. Likewise with the adults, while smarting from the fatigued muscles gained from all those dips in the water and the tans on their skins! Life is indeed a celebration. 🎉
One rough homebound ride in this CatamaranOne framed souvenir photo for each member of family.
Whenever I get an invite from friends to go on a trip to Bangkok, it’s almost always a “food trip” or more aptly, a “fruit trip” in our minds. I’ve tried going in summer so there are more fruits in season, but the heat and humidity is nearly a curse so I promised myself I’d never go in summer. To welcome October, my niece and I flew into Bangkok on our way to catch a connecting flight to Phuket the next morning. Just time enough to check in our bags at an airport hotel and gorge ourselves on all the fruits we fancy (many we stuffed into our bags flying into Phuket) before calling it a day. Half of our OZ family is waiting for us in a beach resort in Phuket and we are dripping in so much excitement. My niece-in-law who is Thai, her family and ours, are waiting. But first, we “fruitify”. Got that word from my apo’s friend with whom my apo shared the fruit box I prepped whenever I fetched her from school then.
Custard or Sugar Apple, Strawberries, Guapple, Jackfruit, Grapes of all kinds and sizes, Watermelon, And More My All-Time Favourite along with Persimmons
We also found the time — rather failed to resist — trying Thai curry and seafood pot rice in the mall a short cab ride from our airport hotel. (Incidentally, the spartan but spotty clean airport hotel is one I’d recommend. Nothing fancy but value-for-money for just a night to rest your bodies before an early morning flight. No rush means no anxieties!) Not to forget, have you tried fish flakes with your watermelon? Ours was served that way and it’s an interesting combo.
Watermelon with Fish FlakesFruits Galore
From Amari Don Muang Airport to Rangsit Future Park Mall is around 100-120 baht by taxi. There, you can buy as much fruit as you can HARDLY muster. I wanted to try all of them! And the food court offers both cheap and delish samples of Thai cuisine. We tried S&P, which had a good display of bread and pastries we could buy for next day’s breakfast in our room, but ended up sitting for a proper meal. Just be warned: my chicken curry was smoking hot. Even the papaya salad served with it was so spicy. But really good. I’m just warning you to have a glass — or a pitcher — of water ready. 😝
Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice and Papaya Salad Seafood Pot Rice from S&P
Bellies full, bodies rested, we walked from our airport hotel to Terminal 2 of the domestic airport. In under 15 minutes, we’ve checked in and walked with the robot-sweeper towards our gate. Did I tell you we had a cute-sy budget airplane flying into Phuket? Lookee…..
Vietnam is a fascinating state with an equally fascinating history, culture and cuisine. I’ve made at least 4 trips here and this fifth time around, ventured into the mountain areas up in Northwestern Vietnam. I have always enjoyed Vietnamese cuisine and thought I knew enough about it and wrongfully assumed Vietnamese cuisine up in the mountainous areas of Lao Cai are the familiar dishes I found in Ho Chi Minh, Hue, Hoi An, Danang and Hanoi.Wrong! Sa Pa cuisine is a culture in itself. Those hotpots and bamboo rice are no way familiar at all. Fish means either salmon or sturgeon. And meat can be beef, pork, buffalo, (black) chicken, horse or (brace yourself) dog meat. So we made sure we struck off horse and dog meat from the menu. Seriously. It is a vegan paradise though , with an assortment of vegetables and herbs served to us. And if you like fish stew, you’d enjoy these soupy dishes. After a few days, we grew tired of the local cuisine and went in search for Western dishes. Pizza, pasta, meatballs, steaks saved us. All’s well 😉
Sa Pa Cuisine
The French may have influenced gustatory arts in the more cosmopolitan areas but that influence may have fizzled out in the mountain areas of Northern Vietnam. Food was nothing “fancy” but served in great quantities, too much in fact. And I seriously missed my desserts 😞. It’s a good thing the coffee scene was soooo great and the coffee concoctions are truly more desserts than coffee in my book! (Tip: try the coffee shops — ate some real good apple crumble in Le Gecko) Best of all, the mountain sceneries & meet- ups with hill tribes are memorable experiences with all the local colors & flavors (pun intended).
Tribal Women and Bebes In Watercolour
Just click on the blog link below for more photos and details.
We are back in Hanoi and still seriously in search for the best egg coffee — and where else should we look but where it all started? First discovered, or rather concocted in 1925, when an ex-bartender of the famous 5-star Metropole Hotel thought of substituting fresh milk with egg to make Hanoi’s “cappuccino”. It was the perfect solution at a time when milk was a luxury and scarce. Only problem then was that it took an entire half hour to beat the high-quality free-range eggs to make a cup of egg coffee! Thankfully, the egg blenders have made this tedious process a thing of the past now. It can only be expected that the man — Nguyen Van Giang — who created and introduced the egg coffee runs the best egg coffee place in Hanoi. Still in the same unpretentious building and yes, still the same recipe but likely using egg blenders. For the life of me, I was kind of hesitant to try raw egg yolks in my coffee but Mr.Giang’s recipe reportedly uses only eggs from free-range hens fed on natural food! They say there’s a secret ingredient but I bet Mr. Giang shared that with his daughter who now runs the 2nd best egg coffee shop “Dinh Cafe”.
Egg Coffee. One with cinnamon. We took a Grab to reach Cafe Giang
Since we’ve already tried the iced coconut coffee of Cong Ca Phe when we were in Sapa, Northern Vietnam, we skipped their Hanoi outlet and instead booked another grab ride to arrive in the Hidden Gem Cafe. Truly hidden! The narrow alley snaked past a garage and two flights of stairs. But we’re so happy to be here. Amazing how the owner recycled so much stuff and seamlessly put them all together here. Here, we tried the sticky rice iced coffee, a good looking lemonade with blue tea and an iced coconut coffee. Their bahn mi and rolls may not be the best but they’d do if you’re hungry. It simply is exciting to be in this spot which we found bohemian and artsy. Just be sure you beat the crowds by coming real early or at odd hours. I’m sure it gets busy and because it’s not air conditioned, you may not get the spot we had where there’s a breeze to ward off the heat.
The Hidden Gem CafeLemonade with Blue Tea
This coffee place didn’t waste any walls nor corners. There was always something going on on some walls — a mural, a garden, something both artistic and odd. The 2 flights of stairs get you on the 3rd floor that’s more “al fresco”. Better than the 2nd floor which we found more stuffy.I am not sure we’d find this place on our own. Booking a grab ride was easy and real cheap! So install that app if you haven’t.
More Iced Coconut Coffee?Bahn Mi and Rolls at Hidden Gem Cafe
But in case you haven’t tried Iced Coconut Coffee — that modern-day concoction of coffee, coconut cream, milk and ice cream — there are several outlets of Cong Ca Phe in Hanoi. Choose one nearest you, and have that iced coconut coffee fix! This time, feel the communist vibe here with the cafe’s military-green walls, a server clad in military uniformand comm posters straight out of the 1970s to instill that vibe! Mind you, we had the best iced coconut coffee here. Oh, there’s the green rice coconut coffee too which I particularly liked. More like a dessert. Enjoy ☕️ 🧋
Parts Unknown by Anthony Bourdain is one of my fav shows. Lamentably, Tony is no longer around to guide us. Not only in terms of what and where to eat, but on how to appreciate food in the context of culture and even traditions. One show on Hanoi food adventure is that one where Bourdain dined in some honky-tonk joint with no less than THE PRESIDENT OBAMA. So what do you expect from a food show that features a dinner date between Tony and Barack?
Bun Cha
I remember searching for a pho joint in Ho Cho Minh City whose claim to fame is that President Bill Clinton happened to eat there. Pho 2000 isn’t bad but I’d say food taste is really just your average Joe. Or average Huy or Nam, if you like. And now, there’s Bun Cha Huong Lien. But first a lesson on what is pho vs Bun Cha. Pho is a noodle soup while bun cha is more dry. Like having barbecued pork over your vermicelli plus some really, really good broth flavoured with sweetened vinegar and fish sauce. I love bun cha!
They call it Combo Obama👌The Combo Obama goes with this Seafood Roll
Price-wise, this joint is a winner. You can’t go wrong at these unbelievably low prices for some truly good soupy dishes. And the servings are soooo generous. The veggies and vermicelli are all laid out on a platter even before you order anything. I guess the veggies and thin noodles go with anything you order. Go help yourselves, folks. Just don’t expect fancy tableware nor linen service 😂 . Service is not impeccable but fairly prompt and standard. Honky tonk that it is, we actually enjoyed the same bun Cha and Combo Obama that Barack and Tony Bourdain enjoyed. Value for money it is.
Bun Cha 👌
Oh, btw, “bun” in Vietnam means vermicelliand “cha” means grilled pork. Bun Cha is one of the iconic dishes here in Vietnamand certainly worth a try! And once you’re done eating, how about going up to the upper floor to check out the glass-encased box on display whereObama and Bourdain ate their bun Cha along with their dining sets and tiny stools. Such is Bun Cha Huong Lien’s claim to fame. Enjoy!
Back in Manila, we’d schedule our cafe or bar dates at least once a week. The prospect thrills us and the actual experience is always a delight. On our trip to Sapa in Northern Vietnam, we spent an entire afternoon for our post-lunch cafe crawl. We haven’t had a proper dessert since we got here but first off, we just had to try the popular egg coffee and coconut coffee.
Cong CafeCoconut Coffee now tops my list of iced coffees
This is our first time to try coconut coffee. Cong Ca Phe is 👍that we recommend it — iced! More dessert than coffee, actually. Back in Hanoi, we tried egg coffee but it wasn’t the best so we went in search of good egg coffee here in Sapa. Found one in Le Gecko. In both coffee shops, we took “front seats” to appreciate the street scene. People-watching can be habitual if I were to live here. The cars and motorbikes with passengers or cargo (unbelievable!) passing by is what life is all about here. Sapa may be 6 hours away from cosmopolitan Hanoi but it certainly isn’t a sleepy town or ghost town. Sure, it’s in the boondocks but commerce and tourism has touched this mountain town and even the hill tribe folks are quite comfortable plying their wares in the streets here.
The street scene from Cong Ca Phe. Inside Cong Ca Phe
Cong Ca Phe is in a two-storey building, but the best seats in the shop are those in the porch. There is even a resident fur baby who seems so “at home” here. As for Le Gecko Cafe, it’s in another busy section of this mountain town near the pond area. Again, we took the “front seats” from where we enjoyed our egg coffee and an apple crumble pie.So yum! The egg coffee here is more dense, foamy and frothy than the one we tried in Hanoi. So so good that we actually thought of heading back after our dinner!
El GeckoEgg CoffeeOh, that apple crumble!
P.S. We actually trooped back the following day for another iced coconut cafe and to try the Cot Dua Com Xanh or Coconut Green Rice Coffee. So so refreshingly good!
We are spending 7 days, 6 nights here in Avignon. That’s after 3 nights in Nimes. Soak up a bit of Provençal life and do day trips from this walled city to explore other parts of Provence. My 3rd trip here, actually. The first time, a friend and I drove from Paris through Tours and Lourdes to Provence before meeting up with friends in Barcelona. That was in 2003. Soon after, I headed back after visiting Lourdes, hopping on a train to Toulouse then boarding an onward train all the way to Avignon. In both trips, I felt shortchanged that I didn’t spend as much time as I could. All rushed, busy with day trips to explore Arles, Nimes, Aix en Provence, Le Baux, Saint Remy de Provence and Marseilles. All touch and go. Just “sightseeing”. I’m not doing that again. I’m spending a whole week in Avignon!
Palace of the Popes best viewed & enjoyed with sorbet on a hot day. Having my Quiche Lorraine in my hotel room.
This time, we checked out the Saturday Market in Avignon, did some retail therapy, dined in French restaurants and a pizza parlor in the city center and ate a lot of ice cream and sorbet! I love Provençal cuisine as it blends French with Spanish dishes with a sprinkling of Italian from its being under the Romans for some time. South of France literally means near the border of Northern Spain. Also, Avignon is NOT exactly that provincial — the city vibes are there, in the shops, in the many touristy stalls, cafes, theatres, gelato bars and restaurants. But so much more relaxed and milder in temperament or character than Paris. Easy to cover the entire walled city in 2-3 days but it’s a convenient base for excursions to explore more of Provence. We enjoyed the spacious hotel room we booked, unpacked with comfort, claimed the 3 closets in the room and made good use of the sitting room for our dine-in dinners while our laundry dries.
The Papal Palace GardenAvignon has many “old” and modern spots.
The ticket costs only €13 for the Palace, Garden and the Bridge. The tablet guide they give you is so high-tech it took some time to figure out how to make it work. Took an hour and a half but going to the viewpoint for St. Benezet Bridge or Pont de Avignon requires some uphill climb. If you don’t care to walk or climb, just hop on the tiny, silver Choo-choo train for €10. I won’t tire you with details on the Papal Palace and the Avignon Papacy. Suffice it to say that 7 popes lived in Avignon rather than Rome from 1309 to 1376 because of conflict with the French crown. Thus, Avignon holds that distinction of being the papal capital for some time.
Avignon Bridge or Pont d’ BenezetInside the Palais de Pape
We enjoyed our twice-a-day ice cream sessions here. And the punishing summer heat (29C) must have worked up our appetites too. The outdoor cafes and restaurants offered many options. Paella, steak Charolais, fillet mignon, salmon risotto, entrecôte, salad nicoise, Magret de canard, pizza and pasta. And some ice cream and granita bars offer as many as 74 flavours! You can’t go hungry in Avignon. C’est La vie!
We enjoyed many good meals here. No French portions; the servings overwhelmed me!
The highlight of our recent trip to the Kansai area was the full blooming cherry blossoms or Sakura. So much worth the 3 day extension we made to base ourselves in Kyoto after Osaka. Week earlier, we simply visited Kyoto as a day trip from Osaka. On our last 4 days, we based ourselves in this old corner of Japan to enjoy the Sakura scenery. And to continue our love for the seafood markets of Osaka and Kyoto.
Look at those prawns! Love these lobsters. We had two — with loads of cheese!
Our heads were spinning just looking at these beautiful sea creatures, steaming or grilling. We found this lobster vendor in Kuromon Market in Osaka offering us a small round table behind him so we promptly claimed our seats and pointed out the lobsters, prawns, squid, and unagi to grill. We also asked for oysters but he didn’t have any so we were allowed to order from the next stall, along with some scallops! Asians that we are, he understood we badly needed our rice which he didn’t have. So one of us trooped to the nearby Family Mart to buy steamed rice which the store kindly warmed to complete our very late but sumptuous lunch!
Butter and drops of miso on my scallops! That squid was grilled to perfection!
From Kiyomizu-Dera to Fushimi Inari to Gion the whole morning and a good part of the early afternoon. It started raining in Gion so we decided to call it a day, but not without visiting the Kuromon Market in Nambashi area near Dotonbori. It was well past 3pm but since our last full meal was breakfast at our hotel before setting out, this feast was our very late lunch that may well be early dinner.
We brought home fresh strawberries but they weren’t as sweet as the ones we ate here. Spotted: yes, those were fresh UNI that we sampled after the strawberries! First time I used scissors to cut up my oysters!
Memories of Kuromon persisted till our last day in Kyoto. From our Kyoto hotel, we took the subway to visit Nishiki Fish Market. But we didn’t just eat fish or seafood. Because it rained, we scrapped our trip to Kobe and searched for the premium beef in Nishiki. We weren’t disappointed. We also found more sea creatures here. This time, we ate standing up! No tables in this cramped little space with barrels for tables and smelling of sizzling, grilling, steaming seafood all around. This beats the 4D ride in USJ’s Hogwarts area!
That’s our Kobe steak! Crab Sticks sitting on a bed of Kani miso. Spotted: Octopus on skewers. I actually wanted to try Tako Tamago but found none. Y’know, that octopus with its head standing upright bcoz someone stuffed a quail egg into its small head. Mean, huh? My apologies.
The rainy day may have ruined our plans to visit other Sakura spots around Kyoto but thankfully, we had our fill of cherry blossoms the days before. From Kuromon Market in Osaka to NishikiMarket in Kyoto, it’s a food trip hard to forget. Our jolly bellies speak for ourselves and you bet we’d repeat the adventure in our next visit of Japan like it’s a ritual! Sakura and Food is our version of “hanami” in Kansai!
So many choices in Nishiki! And look at those oysters with Ikura and Uni — all my favorites on a single shell! Holding that Kani miso like it’s a pricey jewel! Love that man behind us! He also enjoyed watching us eat like it’s the last day of our lives.
Our first home base was in Osaka. Right in Namba’s Dotonbori area. The aroma of food wafting from the food stalls and restos kept us going especially on our first night. We have made our wagyu dinner reservations but ended up in the wrong resto branch. And that’s after some time looking all over the place, scanning all the alleys. We were tempted to just skip it and instead check out the many ramen or yakitori or crab places but how can we give up on matsusaka beef 🥩? The staff in the “wrong branch” took us to the right outlet just a few meters away. Seemed like they’re used to guests getting lost or missing the right branch. The night ended well and we were satisfied with our first dinner in Osaka. 👌
Wagyu Dinner at Matsusaka-gyu MFushimi Inari Looking Empty of Visitors
Woke up early the next morning for a train ride to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, but it seemed most everybody had the same “brilliant idea”. Walked all around until our knees went jello, then moved to Fushimi Inari where once more, a long line of visitors have already assembled. Alas, the gods smiled on us and we found a break in the line so we promptly took snapshots of the shrine’s vermilion gates looking empty. By the time we were done, we took the Keihan Line to Kyoto’s geisha district, Gion. This time, we failed to spot any geisha, geiko nor maiko. But we enjoyed Hanamikoji alley in peace as the sun set in Kyoto.
Another Tourist Trap: Arashiyama Bamboo ParkSundown in Gion District
Osaka and Kyoto are just 15 minutes apart via Shinkansen. So convenient. And from the JR Namba Station near our Osaka crib, we took the rapid express train to Nara Deer Park the next day. Just under an hour. Easy. But not as easy is the trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima. Took the 1.5 hour Shinkansen, the half-hour local train from Hiroshima to Miyajima and finally the 8 minute ferry ride to the island. But hey, if you have the time, and the JR Pass, it’s worth visiting. The pass is good for the Shinkansen, local train and ferry. Just make sure you don’t doze off on the ferry ride or you’d end up making a round trip!
Miyajima IslandNara Deer Park
On our way to Tokyo, we broke our journey in Kyoto for a quick visit to Kiyomizu-dera and to enjoy some Uji matcha delights. Suitcases left in the station’s coin lockers, we were off to take the local train from Kyoto Station to Kiyomizu-gojo via Tofukuji. The uphill climb from Exit 4 took a half hour. The thick crowd we met served no encouragement to truly explore this beautiful temple but we’re not complaining. Time enough for a visit and catching our late afternoon Shinkansen to our next crib, Tokyo. Watch this page for more of our adventures!
This 2022 is a better year judging by how the pandemic woes have eased and how international borders have opened up. Soon after we returned from our Nile cruise early in 2020, we survived a lockdown which saw us cancelling as many as 3 international trips in 2020 and staying in for much of the time throughout 2020-21. Sad news from family and friends we haven’t, couldn’t visit reached us and all we could do was pray and try to stay healthy. My annual visits to my family in Sydney was put on hold until OZ borders opened up in February 2022. I wasted no time and secured a visa to visit Sydney last May 2022. Stayed a good 6 weeks and felt gratitude seeping in that our family is well and in good health.
La Familia. OZ Chapter. It was winter that mid year in Sydney. Lovely to bond with family again, especially since there are just 2 of us sisters in the original branch of the family.
Soon after, it was time to visit a niece now based in Guam. Renewed my US visa to visit this territory in the Northern Pacific and spent a month, thinking there isn’t much to do in this tiny island. I was prepared to get bored and promised not to whinge. Well, I must have done whatever there is to do in Guam from hotel staycations, duty-free shopping, watching a musical, binging on movies in the nearby cinema, trying Chamorro meals, driving and touring around the island, swimming and other water adventures. There were a number of family friends to meet up so there’s aplenty to do and catch up on. Besides, there was a birthday to celebrate!
A day excursion to Bikini IslandAnd a birthday to celebrate!
In between these visits, I made 2 domestic trips. One to holiday in Boracay with dear friends who are my extended family, and another to Cagayan de Oro in Southern Philippines to celebrate a friend’s retirement and birthday. My relationship with these extended families makes me feel so very thankful for their friendship and the bond that ties us forever. Their children are all my godchildren — from baptism to wedding — and our friendship counts decades with the younger members forging an equally strong bond among themselves. This relationship will last beyond our lifetimes!
And then there’s our Fukuoka trip this last month of the year. Not our first time to Kyushu Island in the southern part of Japan, but we were just too eager to travel again as a group. Who cared who was guiding us or where we were going? Destinations hardly mattered. There were just 3 major sights: a garden in autumn foliage, an active volcano and a gorge, and a canal cruise. And onsens and kaiseki in between. Enough. In the company of these travel buddies, we’re good. Fun as always. More fond memories. We are blessed.
lifeisacelebration 