Do you think the squirrel can finish the apple?
Happy WW!
Don't Play If You Can't Take It
12 years ago
Do you think the squirrel can finish the apple?
Happy WW!
...photos courtesy of nycgo.com...
My mind has been flying all over places since I wrote my post about our Hong Kong trip years ago. I've always wanted to travel same with my husband so we're excited to get started with our future travels. Thinking of places that we should visit here in US I have listed down the Big Apple, New York. How come? I can give few reasons why and I am sure those are good enough to consider this place for our travel. We love watching live shows, theaters and the likes so there's Broadway in NY. Shopping and dining completes my trips together with sight seeing, parks and museum visits. All in New York? Yup! But it's not all about just fun because i told my mom in time we will visit her bestfriend (a close family friend) there in NJ. Looking at all the reasons a trip to NY will be worth the cost.
Many might think NY is not for people who loves to embrace nature other than city life. I also thought at first this can't be my vacation place but as I checked on other possible activities and places to visit through their local info, I found out places to go like South Beach which is just more than an hour travel from Times Square where you can enjoy sun, sand and swim or ride the waves. Dining by the beach is great too so you can always hit up the boardwalk for a beachfront dining experience. For a more relaxing escape from the city, a side trip to the Wave Hill countryside will be the best option approximately an hour and twenty minutes travel. This place has lush greenery and bountiful blooms to excite your senses. Adventure seekers who are more inclined to trekking, bird watching and nature explorations can also enjoy this experience in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. All these things I learned about makes me more eager to fly there anytime possible.
...photos courtesy of The Latham Hotel...
Part of my travel that I never fail to check is hotel hunting. Budget is very important and I am not the type to throw all my money to such luxurious hotels. I love comfort but I'm not that picky either to choose luxury over practicality. Did you know that there are Hotels in New York City for less than $100? Sounds too good to be true? Well just check it out. Of course it's always easier to find higher priced hotels everywhere but why go there if there are places right there in Time Square NY for under $150 per night.
...photos courtesy of Days Inn, Hicksville LongIsland...
...photos courtesy of Econo lodge, Macarthur Airport...
Most hotels provide packages with breakfast meals which is a must for us since we always eat breakfast and other free services like parking, wireless internet connection, coffee & tea are mostly covered. Going places won't be too hard from the hotels since it's usually strategically situated within the center of city's activities and events. Just make sure you choose the right one for your needs and itinerary to make the most of your time and money not being wasted on travels and transport services. Hehe I talk as if I'm really travelling to NY anytime soon, that's not likely to happen because hubs used up all his 2009 vacation when he went back to the Philippines. We'll have to wait til 2010 to have a fresh new start with his vacation leave. It also works better that way so we'll have the chance to save more for the trip. =)
...photos courtesy of Econo lodge, Macarthur Airport...
As I was exchanging comments with fufu who just had his backpacking trip in China all the way HK, it made me reminisce about my trip with my older bro & younger sis. I went to search through my HD if I have some digital photos with me. I'm glad I found some and I think it's enough to make for this post. The trip was our first without parents and I can say it was fun despite the fact that we were quite restricted during the trip having it booked as a group. We were grouped with fellow Filipinos and luckily most of us became friends and formed good bonds later on.
It was my younger sis' 18th birthday celebration and she chose travel instead of traditional debut. Of course she won't be allowed to be on her own so older bro and sis had to chaperone her! haha! Our first destination was Shenzhen China and from there we took train to HK but I'll just tell about it next time. Our first destination was the harbour and it was just a quick stop to take photos. Our tour guide didn't give us much free time to do things so we were tied up with the group no matter what. I think we were the last to come back to the bus and she was scolding us for taking too long! Hahaha what can she do we're bunch of teenagers who love to break rules! just kidding! We were just caught up taking photos =)
I can remember she brought us to shopping places and not to certain must see spots. We all felt like cheated somehow that time but that's part of the pains having a group trip booking. Mom and dad were scared to make us fly on our own and getting lost there. that's why they decided for us to be in a group trip. Yes we kind of look like Chinese but we can't speak their language. which concerned them even more. Later on that afternoon we were just brought to our Hotel (Rambler Oasis Hotel in Tsing Yi), no complains with the accommodation except the location. We had to take shuttle ride to the subways to be able to reach the main city.
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We explored the Hong Kong subways from Tsing Yi to Tsim Sha Tsui and off to yau Ma Tei. From there we explored walking all the way to Wong Tai Sin. We were a bit scared being so intimidated with all the writings that we can't read but luckily there were so many friendly Filipinos who helped us through the subways. They gave us tips in buying and told us places that we should be cautious of snatchers or pickpockets. Of course we didn't miss to try street foods there for those are the tasty treats. Sis being a sweet tooth, bought caramel strawberries. It's a long stick of berries dipped in caramel. She was forcing us for a bite but we're not much into sweets. Just a teeny weeny bite to make her stop stuffing it to us. We tried bunch of dumplings and dimsums and shopped for some souvenirs too. After the tiring activity, we headed back to the hotel.
The whole experience was great. I enjoyed quality time with my siblings and met new friends too. Next time going to Hong Kong, I won't book for a group trip anymore. I will explore more places like the ocean park, disneyland, big buddha and Macau most likely. How about you... do you usually make friends on your trips? Do you prefer to have your itinerary done as a group or simply go on your own?
Remember my El Nido posts? I'm quite in the mood to post something more so this will be the last of it. I know I showed nice photos of this remote island but never really discussed much about it. Basically this island was named after the If you want to check more detailed info, just click here. The official town site can answer more of your curiosity than my words =) All I can say is that you'll never regret going to this island for a fun, relaxing and "yummy" experience! Here is where you can experience nature both land and water with natural falls, lagoons, caves and many islands. This is also the heart of asian Nido Oriental soup delicacy for its famous Nido edible nest-gathering started. Truly an enchanting place!
By the way this was my first ever out of town experience which lasted for 9days without any family member or my bestfriend. My parents are quite strict so I'm more limited going out. How did I get away with it? Call it the perks and privileges of being married and a professional. I simply told them I will have to go there in Palawan to do ocular in the resort for the renovations so I can design accordingly and the client was requesting me to come over. My husband was ok with it so what does my parents have to say? hehehe! We had to exchange calls & texts though so they won't worry.
I was more than amazed to know that my friend's mom has acquired many properties there in that island. Their family's also known there, a very prominent one. Aside from Lally & Abet Beach Resort I was toured around to see the other properties that might be developed in time. This Little Boracay place we visited is way underdeveloped that the main shore. This is an ideal place for backpackers who just want to have a very simple life at the beach. Mind you, no electricity here =)
Nathz & I shared a room and it was really big for both of us. That's what you get for being a special guest too =) Both of us are shutterbugs so whenever we're in the room we play with our cameras setting it to auto mode and have numerous shots. Crazy girls? Nah, I'll say girls just wanna have fun!
Who says you can't enjoy pizza in an island? We actually got addicted to this local pizza called "capriciosa" and we actually ate in that place for 3 consecutive days! One of the last we tried was the marinara pizza which is an all seafood pizza. Can you see the calamari rings there? Funny that we were more than willing to spend quite much for this while we can eat anything in the resort restaurant free of cost! It's quite a walk from my friend's resort to Marbers and you can also use kayak if you wish too but we didn't want to get wet anymore so a nice leisurely walk by the shore was enough. Also since it's a very small town we went to Balay Tubay bar one night just to roam around and bought pizza and juice! There was a band playing but we only went there for their capriciosa in which we didn't like much.
Nathz & I having fun under the rain! One thing I learned from this kayaking experience on a rainy day, wear a life vest to keep you warm! hehehe it was so cold with the cool breeze blowing on your every paddle plus we were caught by a passing storm. The water was really warm so it's very nice to have a dip and swim but not to be up there out of the water playing. Wearing a sheer shirt won't help at all so a lifevest will save you from freezing. =) We were lucky enough that the water was calm despite the rain so we were able to go quite far with our kayak. I can't enjoy the snorkeling coz I'll need special goggles to see underwater. My specs sure was trusty during this water fun.
How about you, will you go for some work offer like this?
...taken @ SJ Giants baseball game...
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