Maia Travels: HongKong Disneyland (Part I)

"Byebye Disney. I will be back. Kung sana malapit lang dito bahay natin no? Or kung pwede na lang tumira dito, Mommy ano?"
(If only our house is just near, no? Or if only we can live here, no Mommy?)

That was my daughter's emotional farewell while we were walking out of HongKong Disneyland. I used to think I'm tough enough to never be lured by the tag line "happiest place on Earth" but turns out the tag line is never bounded by age nor race nor generations. Only by your wallet, I suppose. Hehe. But this trip proved to me one thing -- the child is me is still alive, after all!

We arrived in Hong Kong half past 9 in the morning last Wednesday via Cebu Pacific Air from Manila. Good thing our flight was on time. Building itineraries are not my best points, so I told my daughter and husband to manage expectations. Anyways, we planned for a slow-paced trip so we have plenty of time for rest stops.

We took our sweet time lining up at the immigration since its the little girl's first out of the country trip we tried to explained how things work when one leaves his or her home country and arrives in a different territory. I couldn't really tell if she understood everything. I will probably find out the next time we go on another trip abroad. But for now, I took all the nods as a "yes".

After exiting immigration, we went to find Cafe De Coral at the 7th floor of HKIA since we wanted to fuel up before leaving the airport. We wanted to have plenty of energy in case we get lost on our way to Hong Kong Disneyland.

Most of the breakfast items were already sold out. The cafe was already starting to put out the lunch menu. But we still managed to eat a decent meal. We ordered meal sets. I think we spent about HK$70 for 2 meal sets but they were already very filling. The little girl liked the ramen soup particularly and finished the hefty serving all by herself.

After the hearty breakfast, we prepared to leave for Disneyland. Being first timers in HK, we went to find the information counter at the airport first to make sure we are headed to the right direction. There's several ways to get to Disney. I supposed the cheapest would be to take the bus but we decided to take the train instead since we have a kid and 2 luggages with us. It took us 3 train rides to get to Disney. But the transport system in HK is very efficient so we didn't feel any hassle despite having to do several train transfers. All 3 rides were comfy enough for our little girl to enjoy the ride. I'm sure in her mind - "I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO DISNEY" was on constant play.

Train from HKIA to Tung Chung (this was the shortest but most expensive among the 3 train rides) then Tung Chung to Sunny Bay

Sunny Bay to Disneyland Resort!

Part 2 here: Maia arrives in Disneyland Resort.

Maia Travels: Siquijor: Playtime At The Beach

I was cleaning up my Photo folder and came across a folder of my photos  taken using my phone which were dated October to November of this year. I clicked it and saw these:

Siquojor is forever etched in this little girl's memory because she spent a lot of time playing by the beach. We also spent all 3 of the mornings we were there early by the beach making sandcastles using our hands and what-nots we could find on the beach. The mere thought of it brings a big smile to my sleepy face.

I am going to sleep with wonderful thoughts tonight. And yes, I think I can officially say now that I am a converted beach lover. Yes I still love the mountains and the flora that abound it. But a day by a quite beach, with just you and your loved ones is equally relaxing too. Thoughts of summer on this cold, wet December night, not bad at all eh?

Maia Travels: Siquijor - The Preview

We booked our tickets for Dumaguete six months ago during a piso fare promo sale from a local airline. As always, I never bother with itineraries. I guess, I will forever remain a crammer. Also, knowing that earlier that week a 7-magnitude earthquake hit the Bohol which was in the same region where our destination is located, I guess I didn't want to raise expectations so much. As I've been under a lot of stress these past few weeks, I didn't think I still have some room for disappointments. So my strategy was to take things a day at a time. Maia had her mastery tests in school the week prior to our scheduled trip as well so I'm glad I had the excuse not to get her all excited as well. 

I swore off being pessimistic a long time ago, but I couldn't help but fall into the pit of pessimism easily lately. Honestly, up to the last minute, I was half-expecting our flight not to push through. 

But it did. 

And I'm glad it did. Because who wouldn't fall in love with this place? Maia did. Well, we all did the minute we stepped out of the van that fetched us from Siquijor port. 

Took this photo before we left the island. We shall be back. Maybe when the kid is older and able to go snorkeling on her own :)

Maia Recommends: Travel Logbook by Caroline Istas

I cannot think of anyone I know that doesn't like travelling. Travelling in my opinion is the most fun (if not the best) way to learn about other peoples/regions/places/cultures. I want my daughter to nurture in her a love for travel and adventure. I want her to be curious of other cultures. I want her to be curious of the world. And so even with our limited (financial) capacity, my husband and I try our hardest to expose her to travelling as young as she is. 

To me, a family trip is most fun when we try to blend in with the locals. (Eat where the locals eat, go where the locals go -- or something to that effect). So we try to just that when we travel. We want to teach our daughter to love travelling despite some bumps along the way. And by bumps I mean the possibility of taking the local commute, the lack of air conditioning and (maybe) posh accommodations (or not being able to afford it), or maybe even love walking when the situation calls for it. At this time, she still is enjoying the fact that she can just yell - CARRY ME MOMMY! CARRY ME DADDY! each time she feels like it. But you bet, when she's old enough, we will impose stricter travelling rules (hehe, I assure you Maia, it is going to be fun that way)

Writing this just makes me even more excited to travel with my little girl. I look forward to backpacking adventures in the future. And to her filling up the pages of this latest discovery - A TRAVEL LOGBOOK by Caroline Istas.

I first saw this posted in COANM's Instagram account. I immediately asked where she got it and was happy to know that I am acquainted to one of the resellers - Lyra (who is also a fellow n@wie and a blogger mom that I frequently stalk). Lyra's blog - Hello Saigon - talks about living as an expat family in Vietnam. Do check it out one of these days. It's really fun and informative.

So anyways, let me give you a glimpse of this travel logbook that I'm talking about.

cover, inside cover and back page

just look at how intricate the drawings are in this log book.
no wonder my little miss illustrator was immediately smitten.
it was love at first sight!

it has pages to entertain a kid's restless mind.
the bottom left is 2 pages of beautiful hand-drawn stickers 

it's a very comprehensive travel log book that your kid will truly appreciate if she owned one.

The minute she learned the book was for her, she immediately grabbed a pair of scissors and started opening the package. She was very careful though (probably thinking what she was holding is very fragile and delicate)

She was so ooh'd and ahh'd at the drawings on every page and she immediately expressed her want to travel soon so she can fill up these pages. Soon, Maia. Hopefully, soon.

Do you want a copy of this book for your kid too? You can send an inquiry to Lyra at hellosaigoncity@gmail.com. I ordered this book from her and had it shipped through local post. It didn't cost much (a little more than P100 if I remember correctly). 

Summer In Antique Updates

 

The thing with slacking with my blog entries is, I tend to lose momentum. And if I don't push it, I'd probably end up abandoning this blog again for well the nth time (since I can't count it with my 10 fingers anymore).

So while I wanted to talk in detail about how this vacation of ours is going so far, I can't organize my thoughts well enough to answer curious questions about my home province so I'll settle for pictures for now.

And being stuck mostly at home due to our unfortunate battle with the killer flu that struck the little miss (leading to our ER trip), I really don't have a lot of photos to share yet. We've been here for 4 days and yet, we haven't gone to the beach yet. The beach -- albeit not the white sandy beach that would most probably attract tourists -- is just a kilometer away from my childhood home. But yes, we have been feeling that bad we couldn't gather enough strength to bring the kids out to the beach and even more chase after them. We'll just wait for reinforcement to come before we even tickle them with the thought of beach frolic.


maia finally meets the new addition to our family

So far, we've just been alternating resting, feeding, bathing and playing (if there's still some energy left for that) with two kids. My nephew who is about a year and a half older than the little miss is quite a handful on his own already so our day tends to be a little exhausting already. But despite that, we amazingly still find some time to squeeze in an activity or two during the day. Which leads me to believe, life is really slow here (and I meant that is a really good way).

Even if this is the first time in a long time that I am wishing for the weekend to come slower, I am just really thankful that despite being sick for more than half of our allotted vacation days we still manage to spend quality time as a family. That's good enough for me. Good enough for us three.

Photoblog: White Beach, Boracay

I will reserve the detailed account of the little miss's three-day adventure here in Boracay for later (when I finally get to sit down and log into a computer). But let me just share with some of the photos I took yesterday. Mr. Sun was very kind to us and he came out just when we got to White Beach (which is really the most popular among all the strips of beaches surrounding the island of Boracay). Lucky little miss!

She's loving this vacation to bits obviously. We had the hardest time prying her off the beach. If you've been to Boracay I'm sure you know exactly why she doesn't want to leave.

I've been flooding my Instagram account with lots and lots of photos. I was sort of the designated photographer/security officer/goffer for this trip because I chose not to invade the waters (mostly due to my lack of confidence on wearing a swimsuit that is designed for women with complete sets of breast lolz, sorry little miss for posting this on your blog). Anyways, here are more photos that I grabbed from Instagram. 

For the 2 nights that we spent in Boracay, we walked half of the length of White Beach looking for the big sand castles but apparently, they are now considered illegal and the local authorities would immediately destroy anything that the locals attempt to build (anyone here know why? the locals think 'trip lang' but I hope there's a more logical explanation to that). We came across this small one when we got to the beach early morning. When we passed by at around 11am, it was already destroyed as well.

First day at the beach. She stayed till noon time. Nognog kung nognog.

Maia Travels: Breakfast At Antonio's

A peak at how and where the little girl spent her Saturday morning yesterday. The past 4 years we always celebrated our wedding anniversary by just attending mass at the church where we were married and grabbing a quick (fast) breaky at the nearest fastfood chain (how cozy and romantic no?). Yesterday, we thought, kid was big enough to already bring with us for a shot of fancy celebration. So we commuted our way to this little fancy resto in Alfonso, Cavite for breakfast.

Will blog more about this soon over at our family blog. In the meantime, let me direct you to the restaurant's website in case you would want to drop by this place soon.

Click for more photos here.

Flying Solo With A Toddler

Summer is fast approaching and you probably are making travel plans already. Our summer is usually just spent in my hometown in Antique and this year is not going to be any different. I love coming home to my parents because I get a break from meal planning and budgeting and other household duties. Summer is the time I get to be just a child (while tending to my own child I hope you get what I mean). 

Maia and I have flown a countless times together. But we were always with company - with either her dad, my mom or our yaya. Flying with a toddler was never easy so I always made sure I was armed with help each time we flew.

On a flight back to Manila from our short but truly enjoyable Davao vacation last Aug 2011 however, I was left to fly solo with our hyperactive toddler. The good thing about it though was that I knew we were going on that adventure months ahead so I had ample time to prepare for it.

What did I do in preparation for this?

1. I made sure I had enough entertainment to last the approximately 2 hour waiting period at the airport. I bought pocket puzzles, a notebook, pens, a pocket coloring book and toys. If all else fails, I also downloaded free interactive puzzles and iStorybooks in my phone. I also packed Maia's favorite stuff toy Georgie to keep her company.

I bought this toy story pocket puzzles in Toy Kingdom for less than P50/6 pcs

2. Have her wear comfortable clothes. A toddler becomes really fuzzy when she's too hot or too cold and I didn't want to be dealing with that issue the last minute.

3. If your toddler is already potty-trained, make sure she goes to the potty before you board the plane. Or better yet, don't let her drink too much liquid a few hours before so you won't have to deal with emergency potty issues.

4. Make sure you pack light. In our case, Tibs and I have already decided I will only bring small tote bag with me. Just big enough for Maia's snacks, our travel docs, my entertainment pack (see #1) and a set of clothes for Maia and me (just a shirt for me). My medium longchamp bag was just enough to fit everything in and it was sturdy enough also for me to lug around so I wouldn't have to worry about straps snapping from all the weight I'm carrying. And I also don't have to wait in line for my luggage so that's another huge break for me. 

5. If you can, bring along a sling to put your toddler in in case she doses off last minute. Maia was already around 14kilos at that time and that's already too heavy for me. Good thing she was awake the entire time so my small arms were given a huge break. You can bring an umbrella stroller but to me that's already bulky and I don't think I can handle carrying that and running after a very hyperactive toddler around the airport premises.

our ever-reliable Next9 sling. too bad Maia's too heavy for my back now but this sling served us for a good 2.5 years. Amazing, right?

6. For messy mommas like me, zip lock bags are a big help. What I usually do so I have easy access to snacks, clothes, clean up stuff (i.e. wet tissue/alcohol/handsoap) and entertainment pack is put them separately in big zip lock bags and arrange them flat in my bag. 

7. Lastly, make sure your tot is tagged. I keep two ID tags on hand each time we travel. One on our luggage and one in my hand carry bag just to be sure I have one on hand each time. I attach it to the little girl's belt or belt loop so it won't be a bother to her. I make sure it has the little girl's name on it and me and her dad's contact numbers.

Maia's trusty ID tag. 

The flight from Davao to Manila is only about an hour and 15 mins long so these tips are really just for those kinds of flights. That's the longest we've been on so far. I'm sure long haul flights are a whole lot different and I couldn't imagine being alone with a toddler on one. But you know moms, we always manage to pull it off so I'm sure if that time comes I will be able to figure something out. 

Maia's Take on More Fun In The Philippines

Maia has been a commuter since she was a little baby. We do not own a car so we made damn sure the little girl enjoys her time while commuting with us. Always.

She's probably ridden almost all types of transportation available in the country (although she has yet to take the RORO). Having parents coming from the opposite parts of the country (Tibs being a Kapampangan and Me a Visayan), she pretty much used to travelling and commuting on long trips. Of all the available transport in the country, Maia's favorite is the jeepney. She hates any ride that is air-conditioned though. So I should probably me more specific with this...she loves riding open-windowed jeepneys! And does she enjoy it? Extremely would always be the answer. When we go home to Pampanga, she would demand we ride a jeepney instead of the bus. I wish we could, she'd probably go nuts with the scenery (since she's always asleep half of the way so she's always missing most of the greens along NLEX).

So, despite being quite late - has it been more than a week? - already (the hype has definitely gone down) here's our contribution to the latest DOT tourism campaign. See http://www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.com/ for more details.

Cruising along McArthur Hi-way inside her favorite ride (couldn't find the Harabara font in Photoscape so I grabbed the closest font I could get)

Maia's First Vacation

Maia's going on her first plane trip today. We're visiting my parents in Antique and stopping over in Iloilo and Guimaras for some summer fun before finally relaxing at home with my parents.

I started packing for Maia last week. This list help me a lot since it's difficult to travel with so many luggage and an infant in tow. Now I think we just packed right.


Here's a helpful article by  to help us Mommies pack up for our babies:
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Travelling With Your Baby

It may take a little extra planning and organisation, but travelling with a baby does not have to be the nightmare some parents imagine!

The Items You'll Need When Travelling With Baby

• Baby first aid kit
• Enough food and milk for your trip (always bring more than you think you'll need!)
• Water and juice(if appropriate)
• Diapers/nappies and wipes
• Scented diaper bags
• Disposable bibs or a wipe clean bib
• Feeding bowl and utensils
• Food warming equipment
• Sun protection
• Your baby's blanket - its familiar scent will be reassuring
• Spare clothes for baby AND you
• Spare pacifiers/dummies (if needed)
• Breast pump (if needed)
• Nightlight (great for night feeds in hotel rooms, which can be very dark
• Baby sling or carrier
• Sterilising equipment

Useful but optional extras include a portable high chair and a travel crib/cot, which allow a great deal of freedom when travelling.

Feeding

• If possible, breastfeed your baby - by far the easiest option when travelling! If you need to express, you can safely keep breastmilk in a cooler with ice for up to 24 hours.
  
  
• If baby is formula fed, you can pre-make the feeds and keep them cool, or use "ready to drink" cartons of formula. Alternatively, measure baby's formula into bottles, then mix with boiled water as required.
  
  
• If you ask for bottles to be warmed for you, always check the temperature of the milk VERY carefully before giving it to your baby.
  
  
• Pack portions of solid foods into a cooler, with ice. Alternatively, bring foods that can be easily mashed "en route" and served at room temperature - avocado or banana, for example.
  
  
• If your baby is old enough, bring plenty of finger foods - they will help keep him occupied during the journey!
  
  
• If you need to sterilise feeding equipment, consider bringing a microwave steriliser bag, disposable sterilising bags or pre-sterilised bottle liners.

Top Travel tips

If you're travelling by road ...

• Think about driving at night, or coincide part of the journey with baby's daytime nap.
  
  
• Always place your baby's car seat in the rear of the car and make sure you operate the doors' child safety locking system.
  
  
• Infants require a rear-facing car seat, not a forward-facing car seat like their older siblings use
  
  
  
• Many parents prefer buying an "infant travel system." When you use an infant travel system, the baby's car seat unlatches from a base which stays attatched to the back seat of your car...and then it pops into a stroller mounting when you reach your destination. Baby stays napping, without having to be lifted out of a car seat and re-strapped into a stroller. (see photos to right)
  
  
• Use removeable window shades to shield your baby from the sun.
  
  
• If driving during the day, stop every 2-3 hours - the break is good for your baby AND for you!

If you plan to fly with your baby ...

• If you can afford it, consider buying an extra seat - infants under 2 fly free, but are expected to sit on your lap throughout the flight. Alternatively, call the airline in advance and request an infant sky cot/bassinet
  
  
• Bring a stroller or car seat carrier to use at the airport - you can usually keep it with you until you reach the departure gate.
  
  
• Ask if there are any empty seats on your flight when you check in. If so, ask if you can be seated next to one - you'll be glad of the extra room!
  
  
• Breast or bottle feed your baby on take-off and landing, to avoid ear pain.
  
  
• Offer your baby plenty of drinks throughout the flight - flying can be very dehydrating.
  
  
• Always ask for baby food/milk to be warmed BEFORE your baby is screaming with hunger - there is no microwave in the aeroplane galley, so warming the food may take some time.

Shuttle ride musings

These days shuttle rides have become my power nap sessions. Sometimes, I'd be so tired I'd fall asleep as soon as my sweet little butt touches the bus seat. This particular morning however, I decided to take out my iPod and play some music. I wanted that moment to myself and I thought sticking a pair of earphones into my ears would transport me to isolation island and I was successful.

I decided to play Hale today. For some reason, I kept thinking of time spent in Arizona and was missing that feeling of independence that I had while I was there. Hale's Twilight album was our official album during our 6-week stay there. I know the lyrics to all the songs in this album by heart up until now.

Anyways (I do love to digress, dont I), one particular Saturday we gathered all our guts and made the 247 mile drive to Grand Canyon.  We were pretty brave. Even if there were 5 of us...if we stopped and took sometime to rethink the impulsive decision that we made that morning we would have stopped and gone back. We were 5 but then 4 were mere navigators...ONLY 1 really knew how to drive. Nobody knew how to trouble shoot a car on the incidence that it breaks down along the road...haha.

But I'm glad we took the chance. If we did not...I don't think I will ever get to witness the authenticity of nature's magnificence...

This photo below was shot inside the car while we were moving (using an olympus point and shoot camera)...but look at how great it turned out.

More of our Grand Canyon and Sedona adventures here.