18 Monday Feb 2013
Mr. Selfish and I went waterfall canyoning in Costa Rica and loved it. When I heard that Dalat was full of waterfalls, I looked into doing another waterfall canyoning trip. I found Groovy Gecko Tours, which was an excellent tour company.
17 Sunday Feb 2013
On the rest of our day tour of Dalat, Mr. Selfish and I went to the kitschier attractions. It’s a good thing that I enjoy kitschy and the photo ops that follow. Mr. Selfish begrudgingly came along and snapped photos of me.
First, we went to the Valley of Love, which I thought was going to be a scenic lush valley. In actuality, the Valley of Love is a cheesy theme park-esque place where honeymooners come to take photos.
16 Saturday Feb 2013
Tags
Asia, Dalat, Linh Phước Pagoda, Linh Sơn Pagoda, Pagodas, Temples, Thien Vuong Co Sat Pagoda, Trúc Lâm Temple, Vietnam
Mr. Selfish and I signed up for a day tour of Dalat, during which we were able to choose eight attractions to visit. Half of our attractions ended up being pagodas or temples. Our tour guide noted that we wanted to see lots of pagodas and pagodas and asked me if I was Buddhist. I replied in the negative but told him that I wanted to visit them because I thought they were beautiful. I was proven correct that day in Dalat.
First, we went to the Linh Phước Pagoda, which is a relatively modern pagoda that was constructed in 1950. It was quite beautiful, especially because it was a bright, sunny day. Many of the designs and creatures are made from beer bottles. Mr. Selfish opted to climb the tower whereas I stayed below. It wasn’t due to laziness but because the photo ops are better that way.
15 Friday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Food & Drinks, Vietnam
Mr. Selfish and I spent a lovely six weeks in Paris. Every now and then, I look back and think about how great those six weeks were. I miss Paris now and would go back in a heart beat. I therefore looked forward to visiting Dalat, Vietnam – especially because it has a miniature Eiffel Tower. Although you can’t go up it, it was still nice to behold.
13 Wednesday Feb 2013
Posted in Asia, Food & Drinks, Vietnam
Tags
Asia, Baba's, Cơm Niêu Sài Gòn, Ho Chi Minh City, Plan B, Saigon, Vietnam, Xu
Mr. Selfish and I took it easy in Saigon. We rented an apartment via airbnb, so we cooked and ate in mostly. We also worked out almost every day. It was glorious. Nevertheless, we had to eat out a few meals…
Our favorite restaurant in Saigon is Xu. We went there for our honeymoon in 2009 and couldn’t forget the coconut martinis. As it turns out, Xu had a buy-one-get-one-free happy hour from 5-7pm. Mr. Selfish and I went – twice.
The coconut martinis were as delicious as we remembered, but we also got the Xu Tini (with vodka, tea, vanilla, honey, and cream), which was phenomenal. We also sampled the “edible cocktails” which are made with liquid nitrogen. We tasted the coconut (vodka, fresh coconut juice, and liquid nitrogen) and strawberry glacier (rum, strawberries, and liquid nitrogen). Both were quite interesting and fun to eat/drink.
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.
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.
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.
The Selfish Years 