12 Tuesday Feb 2013
Tags
Asia, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khao Lak, Khao Sok, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, Thailand
Mr. Selfish and I arrived in Bangkok last night. This is our first time in Thailand, so we’re pretty excited. Here’s our four-week itinerary:
11 Monday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Food & Drinks, Philippines
Tags
1945 Memorial, Asia, Baluarte de San Andres, Bicol Express, Intramuros, Manila, Max, Philippines, Sisig, St. Agustin Church
On our last day in the Philippines, Mr. Selfish and I spent some quality time with our friends in Manila. We went to Intramuros, which is the historic portion of Manila. We attempted to go into the Manila Cathedral, but it was closed for renovations. However, nearby we enjoyed the 1945 monument, which was dedicated to the victims of WWII. Then, we walked to the Church of St. Agustin, which had a wedding going on. It was interesting to see Asian designs incorporated into a Catholic church (after being in Europe and seeing so many cathedrals there).
10 Sunday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Food & Drinks, Philippines
Tags
Aling Lucing, Asia, Goldilocks, Mall, Manila, Philippines, Polvoron, Sisig
Mr. Selfish and I learned that Manila had quite the mall culture meaning that because it is so hot out, people usually hang out at the mall. We accordingly acted like locals and spent time at the mall.
Not only were the malls huge with fun arcades but they usually had a floor full of pampering stores. I got a facial and a couple of massages from the mall. The massages were quite well-priced (about $6USD for an hour) and the masseuses used A LOT of pressure. Mr. Selfish also got a haircut at the mall, which only cost about $4USD.
09 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted in Accommodations, Asia, Philippines
Tags
Asia, Big Lagoon, El Nido, El Nido Resorts, Lagen Island, Miniloc Island, Palawan, Philippines, Small Lagoon
Editor’s Note: This is the final post in a three part series on El Nido. Check out our other posts:
During our third day at El Nido, we decided to visit Miniloc Island, which is another island belonging to El Nido Resorts. We were originally slated to stay on Miniloc Island but we were upgraded to Lagen Island. Both islands are beautiful.
At Miniloc, we watched the jack fish feeding. Dek particularly enjoyed it. We also relaxed on the hammocks, and Mike and Dek played some b-ball.
07 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in Accommodations, Asia, Philippines
Tags
Editor’s Note: This is the second post in a three part series on El Nido. Check out our other posts:
Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed the many activities at El Nido Resorts. During our first evening, we went on a sunset cruise. It was a bumpy ride on the boat, but Dek had a good time. Although it was a little cloudy that day, we still enjoyed the cruise.
06 Wednesday Feb 2013
Posted in Accommodations, Asia, Philippines
Tags
Editor’s Note: This is the first post in a three part series on El Nido. Check out our other posts:
While Mr. Selfish and I did a “Homeland Honeymoon,” in which we visited Halong Bay north of Hanoi, our friends went to El Nido Resorts on Palawan Island. Both places have beautiful limestone cliffs and emerald waters. During our trip to the Philippines, we decided to see how El Nido compared to Halong Bay.
We opted to stay on Lagen Island at El Nido Resorts, which is an all-inclusive luxury resort. Although the price was a bit steep, all of our food and activities were covered for the duration of our stay. El Nido Resorts is my favorite hotel of all time. It was absolutely stunning in every way.
05 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Philippines
Tags
Baclayon Church, Blood Compact Monument, Bohol, Butterfly Conservatory, Chocolate Hills, Loboc River, Philippines, Tarsier
Mr. Selfish and I took an epic countryside tour of Bohol with our friends. It was an all day affair, and I dare say that we hit up every major attraction in the area. First, we went to a tarsier sanctuary. Tarsiers are the smallest primate in the world. They have large eyes and are mostly nocturnal. They were quite cute and tiny.
04 Monday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Food & Drinks, Philippines
Tags
Amarela Resort, Asia, Bohol, Cebu, CnT, Lechon, Panglao Island, Philippines
After spending a day in Manila, we flew south to Cebu, which is a province in the Philippines consisting of approximately 168 islands. I was excited about Cebu since the lechon (roasted suckling pig) there is legendary. We opted for CnT Lechon, where they chop up the suckling pig in front of you behind plexi glass and you have to buy it by the kilo. It was savory, juicy, and delicious.
03 Sunday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Food & Drinks, Philippines
Tags
Asia, Bulalo, Gerry's Grill, Jeepney, Manila, People's Park in the Sky, Philippines, Sisig, Taal Volcano
Mr. Selfish and I spent nine lovely days in the Philippines with our friends and their adorable son. As I’ve noted previously, we are a little travel planning fatigued, so it was nice just to tag along with what they were doing. They were perfect planners, and we had a wonderful time in the Philippines.
During our first day in Manila, we went to Taal Volcano, which is about 30 miles from the city. It is an active volcano that is a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The last time it erupted was in 1977 but it has been showing signs of activity recently. We kept our distance and enjoyed the beautiful view from the People’s Park in the Sky. The park is on top of a little hill, and you could walk or take a jeepney, which is a means of public transportation made from left over US military jeeps that have been decorated. We opted to walk for the exercise.
02 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Bali, Food & Drinks
Tags
For our last day in Ubud, we decided to take a cooking class. We signed up for Payuk Bali Cooking Class, which is probably the best cooking class I’ve ever taken.
First, they drove us to a rice field and explained to us when and how rice is harvested. My cousin asked if she could walk in the rice fields for the photo op. Our guide promptly told us that she could but that there may be water snakes in the fields. Of course, she walked in the rice fields and immediately came upon a water snake. Below is the action shot of her running from it. I love hanging out with my little cousin; she’s always good for a laugh.
31 Thursday Jan 2013
I was originally pretty blasé about visiting Bali, but Mr. Selfish was quite persistent. He really wanted to visit Bali. Eventually, I started googling images of Bali. This was when I discovered all of the beautiful temples in Bali and was persuaded into including Bali in our itinerary.
Bali is known as the “island of the gods” due to the numerous temples all over the island. While we didn’t make it to the Mother Temple (I figured we could save it for the next trip), we did go to Tanah Lot Temple, which is the gorgeous temple set on the water. Tanah Lot actually means “Land in the Sea” and is one of the seven sea temples in Bali.
30 Wednesday Jan 2013
Posted in Asia, Bali, Food & Drinks
Tags
Mr. Selfish and I didn’t know much about Balinese food prior to this trip. The only other time we had had Indonesian food was in Amsterdam. We had enjoyed a variety of delicious and very spicy small plates, which is known as Padang and is from the area of Sumatra. This type of cuisine is entirely different from Balinese cuisine, so we were excited to learn about actual Balinese food.
One of our best meals in Bali was at Ibu Oka, where they serve roasted pork (“babi guling”). This dish is distinctly Balinese. The Balinese prepare the pork by stuffing and infusing it with a spicy concoction typically involving turmeric, coriander seeds, lemongrass, black pepper and garlic and then the pig is spit-roasted. Yes, it is just as amazing as it sounds.
29 Tuesday Jan 2013
When I learned that there was a monkey forest in Ubud, I knew that we had to visit it while we were in Bali. Its official name is the Sacred Monkey Forest of Padangtega. Approximately 605 long-tailed macaques live in the monkey forest. It was amazing to see so many monkeys wandering around.
28 Monday Jan 2013
Posted in Accommodations, Asia, Bali
Tags
Mr. Selfish and I spent five glorious nights in Bali, Indonesia. We immediately decided that our trip to Bali was too short and that we needed to return later. Not only did Bali seem very untouched by Western culture but the people were the friendliest and nicest we’ve encountered. Plus, the food was amazing, and the prices couldn’t be beat.
We spent three nights in Sanur at the Hyatt Bali. The Hyatt has multiple pools and access to the beach. It was lovely – especially during sunset.
27 Sunday Jan 2013
Tags
On our last night in Singapore, Mr. Selfish and I decided to do the night safari. We had met a very friendly local who highly recommended it to us. He also noted that it was about 1.5 hours away by public transportation and that we should get there early since it got pretty crowded. Per his recommendation, we left early and made the 1.5 hours trip to the night safari.
The first thing we did was queue up for the tram. It wasn’t yet too crowded but we could tell that it would be packed soon.
The Selfish Years 