Ocean Adventure Fun with the Santos

Last December, our good friends from Canada spent their holiday season here in the Philippines and we are happy that we were able to spend time with them even just for one day. We took them to Ocean Adventure in Subic as we know that their kids will love it there.

Ocean Adventure is one of Bela’s favorite place and she really enjoyed all the shows (even if she has seen it numerous times already), with Cobi, Alijah and Aaron. The highlight of our trip was the kids’ interaction with Tonka the whale, the dolphins and the Dakila, the Sea Lion. Here are some of the pictures:

Ocean Adventure for Mother's Day

On Howell’s last weekend here in Manila before he leaves for his temporary duty to Majuro, we were able to go to Ocean Adventure for more bonding moments with the kids. It was actually a last minute decision and we left the house around 11 AM already and we reached Subic by 2 AM just in time for their first afternoon show. In a way, it is also our Mother's Day celebration.

This is our 2nd or 3rd time here but it is the first for Cobi. We watched all the shows: Walk on the Wild Side Show, Amazing African Acrobats, Dolphin Show and the Sea Lion Show.

We enjoyed all of the shows but the highlight of our day was our close encounter with Tonka, Ocean Adventure’s false killer whale. We know much Bela would love this experience and so even if we are not prepared and we did not bring any swimwear, we still signed up for the Beach encounter with Tonka. Just look at how cool it is:

Of course Bela won’t stop thanking us and she said that it is one of her best day ever.

Bela's Wish

Bela: “Mommy can we go back to the USA tomorrow?”

Bela has been asking me this almost everyday, for the past months. LOL. If only it was that easy (and affordable), I would grant my daughter’s wish.

We went to the US last May for a three-week vacation. We went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World, and visited tourist spots in Las Vegas, Toronto and New York. It was spring already when we were there so we miss winter. It was actually Bela’s dream to wear her ski goggles, play in the snow and make snowman and snow angels.

Hopefully we can come back with the kids on winter time so it will be a new experience for them. Taking our kids to the US was one of my husband and I’s biggest dream and we are glad that we were able to tick off one of that dream from our list.

6 Tips for Successful Travel with your Family

So you have been planning for a getaway for your family. You wanted this to be the most perfect vacation that will leave lasting memories. But this travel adventure can be exciting or frustrating depending on how well you planned for this trip.

So to make sure that this will be the most perfect vacation that your family will surely enjoy, here are some tips for successful travel:

1. Destination. The first thing that you need to consider is your travel destination. Would you want to enjoy the beach and go to a resort or do you prefer to go to a theme park with your kids? In deciding, take into consideration the interest of your companion, their personality, their fitness and health condition (which is important if you are planning to go trekking or other physically strenuous activity), the time and the budget that you want to allot for this trip.

To search for your destination spot, the Internet will be your number one companion as everything is just a Google away. You can also ask around from your friends and family who have first hand experiences of their recommended destinations. You can also contact travel agencies to checkout their travel packages as it will sometimes come out to be cheaper than a DIY itinerary.

2. Method of Travel. Once you decide on your destination, you need to look for methods of travel. If it will be a long distance travel, will it be more convenient if you take a plane than a bus or train. Though travel by plane can be a bit expensive as compared to traveling by land. Again, Internet can be your best tool for searching for your mode of transport. All airlines, bus and train companies now have their own website where you can check the schedule and the rate so you can easily compare prices and decide which method of transport will you be using for this trip.

3. Travel Documents. Check that you passport still has 6 months validity on the date of your trip. Some countries also require visa so you may also want to check a few months in advance if you will need to get a visa.

4. Accommodation. Book your accommodation well in advance. This will not only save you money as hotel accommodations are cheaper for advance booking, but this will also avoid the hassle of looking for a place to stay when you reach your vacation spot. There are a lot of online booking sites, which ranges in accommodation types from 5 star, 4 star hotel and even hostels. Read the feedback left by the guests so you can get an idea on the kind of service that hotel can offer.

5. Research. Make sure that you do your research about your place of destination. Take note of the currency, the culture, hospitals, currency, entertainment, places to visit, food and more. This will save you time and energy and will give you the confidence that you got the information that you need as you are in a foreign place.

6. Health. Check to see if you need to get some vaccination and make sure that the medication that you will be bringing is allowed in your country of destination. If you also experience motion sickness, try checking out the site of Biobands as they have motion sickness bands that are safe to use to help you feel relieve from any motion sickness that you may feel as you travel.

Following the tips mentioned above will guarantee a fun and stress free vacation for you and your family. So have fun, travel safe and bring home lots of memories.

Bela & Cobi in Rizal Beach

Last June 30 was the first death anniversary of my mother-in-law and so we went to Bicol to commemorate Mama. This is the second time that Bela has visited the hometown of her dad. The first time we were in Bicol, we went to the house of my father-in-law’s sister, which is just in front of the beach, and so Bela and her cousins were able to take a dip. So when we were in Bicol again last week, I know that Bela will not miss a trip at the beach. So on our second day, they scheduled a trip at Rizal Beach.

Rizal Beach is more than an hour drive from hubby’s house in Abuyog and so Bela was so giddy with anticipation already so she hit the water as soon as we arrive. She was later joined by Cobi and her dad and her cousins and with hubby’s other relatives.

I did not bring any beach toys for Bela and so they just played with her cousin’s metal cars, which unfortunately were swept away by the waves. Bela’s cousin cried buckets over this toy. If only we have metal detectors garrett, then maybe there is a better chance of finding the toy and it would have saved the tears of Bela’s cousin, Gelo. LOL.

After an hour of swimming and building sand castles, we called it a day (as the sun is setting already) and then we head back home for dinner.

Even though it was just a short trip at the beach, Bela and Cobi still had so much fun.

The Countdown is On

Bela is just so excited for our upcoming US vacation. Every night she will ask me how many more days left before we finally leave and she always complains every time I answer her as we started counting 3 months ago so she has been waiting for a long time already.

But we will be leaving this Saturday and so Bela can’t hide her excitement every time I tell her that we will be boarding the plane in just a couple of days. She even finds it hard to sleep at night, probably because she is already imagining about our trip. I showed her pictures from the website of our places of destination that’s why so she can’t hide the fact that she is just so excited to be really there.

This is the first time that Howell and I will be traveling with our kids to the US. God has been really good to us as we never really thought that this dream of ours to bring our kids to the US will finally have a realization.

But as much as I wanted to feel excited for this trip, I still have a lot of things to finish before I take a leave from work. I might even need 7 second eye lift to hide those dark circles around my eyes as for sure I will be working late everyday before our flight on Saturday.

But I am happy still because just a few more sacrifice and then I am off for a three-week quality time with my family and my mom.

Her First Time in Resorts World

Last February 5, we attended Gab’s 2nd birthday in Hospicio de San Jose. Since we were already late for Bela’s swimming class after the party, we just decided to go to the mall and we all agreed that it is the perfect time to check out Resorts World.

After stopping several times to ask for directions, we were finally able to reach New Port mall. Bela was really excited as she noticed that she hasn’t been to this mall so we jump out of the car as soon as we found the perfect parking spot to enjoy the mall. And we were so lucky since we are just in time for the Lion Dance show:

Bela got a bit scared when she first saw the lion dancers but then she started playing and dancing with them when she saw the other kids going near the lion dancers. Just look at some of her pictures:

After the show, we explored the mall to check out the stores housed in the new mall but since it is just small, we were able to go around in less than 1 hour. So we just went back to the ground floor, near the stage, as there are a lot of kids playing in that area and Bela joined them.

Bela really had so much fun on her first time to the New Port Mall in Resorts World.

Fun Weekend @ Pan Pacific

Last week, we spend our weekend at Pan Pacific hotel to grant Bela’s wish of going on a vacation. Days before that, Bela is always saying:

Bela: “Mom, how I wish I can go on a vacation so I can bring Ody (her toy dog) and we will have fun.”

Since Howell will be leaving and that Sunday will be Bela’s Moving Up Day Ceremony, spending overnight in a hotel is the closest that we can get in going on a vacation. Here are some pictures:

(Have you noticed my acne? I wonder if natural acne treatment is safe for pregnant women like me. I better read the reviews from acnetreatmentguide.org to find out).

Bela had a time of her life, as she was able to enjoy swimming with her dad. Even her time at the bathtub the next day is also a very fun activity for her because she was playing with her new bath toys that we bought the night before at Robinsons Place when we had our dinner there. She also was able to swim again the next day while her dad was watching the Pacquiao – Clottey fight) Bela kept on saying that she hopes she can stay in the hotel forever. LOL. Howell promised her for another adventure when he comes back and I am sure no matter where that vacation might be, Bela will surely have fun.

Bela's Close Encounter with the Dolphins

A few weeks ago, we we’re able to visit Ocean Adventure in Subic (you can read my post about it here.) While we we’re having lunch, I checked the website of Ocean Adventure as I know that they have several Animal Encounter Programs.

I got interested with their Dolphin Beach Encounter for Bela. In this animal encounter, Bela can get to experience wonderful whales and dolphins encounter in the shallow water for 30-minutes. The adventure begins with a short presentation on marine mammals, then meets these friendly animals eye-to-eye, hand-to-fin, and foot-to-fluke. Bela can touch, feed, and hug the whales and the dolphins and she can even participate in a demonstration of their sonar ability.

The sun was really up and it was really hot but I don’t mind being exposed to the sun as I know that I can use best eye wrinkle cream for my wrinkles so after learning about this animal encounter program, I called them and reserve a slot for 2:30 PM as I know that Bela will surely enjoy this. We quickly finish our lunch since we need to be there at least thirty minutes before since Bela still has to change to her swimming attire.

When we arrived I went directly to the booking counter and when they saw Bela, they said that she can’t join the Dolphin Beach Encounter as it is for kids 7 years and up. LOL. Too bad, Bela was so excited already and is looking forward to swimming and playing with the dolphins. So I just booked for their dolphin photo encounter instead and she got this close with the dolphins:

She really had a blast and the dolphin trainers were so amazed at how brave she is. She was even able to have her picture with the dolphin on her own when the staff from Ocean Adventure said that for sure she will get scared and asked Howell to pay also so he can join Bela. They refunded Howell’s payment though because Bela did it on her own.

They have an ongoing promo for embassy and airlines employee and they are giving 50% discount for the entrance fee until March 31, 2010. We are planning to go back here as I am sure Bela will not get tired of this adventure.

Bela @ Ocean Adventure

Hubby has long been planning to take us to Subic so Bela can visit Ocean Adventure and Zoobic Safari. But since I am pregnant, I am always lazy to get up early and I would rather stay at home and sleep.

But last week, hubby was able to convince me to have a day tour in Subic. We left a little late though since we woke up at 8:30 and we still have to prepare our things and I have to ask Bela to finish her homework first before we leave. It was already 10 AM when we left Manila. Good thing SCTEX is very reliable that we arrived in Subic in less than two hours.

We looked for a restaurant where we can have our lunch as we are all very hungry already. We are all not used to Subic so we ate at the first restaurant that we spotted and that is Aristocrat. While waiting for our food to be served, I asked Bela again to finish her assignment on the median sound and she was able to finish it in less than 5 minutes. They also have a wifi signal and I was able to browse the website of Ocean Adventure and discovered that they have animal encounter programs. I got interested with the dolphin beach encounter where Bela can get to interact with the whales and dolphins for 30 minutes in the shallow water. I booked for their 2:30 schedule.

After lunch, we went straight to Ocean Adventure as it is almost 1:30 PM and we we’re instructed that we have to be there around 2:15 for Bela’s beach encounter schedule and she still has to change to her swimming attire. She was really excited and was even asking me to change to her swim suit on our way to Ocean Adventure. But then when I was already paying for our tickets and for Bela’s beach encounter, we we’re informed that they can’t let Bela do the beach encounter as it is strictly for kids aged 6 years old and up and the water might be too deep for her and she might get scared. Bela was a bit disappointed but I told her that she will have a photo encounter instead with the dolphins and whales.

The first show that we saw was the Sea Lion show. I asked Bela to approach the trainer of the sea lion so she will be picked as volunteer to be kissed by the sea lion during the show. Unfortunately again, the trainer (Kuya Dan) told us that they have to pick an adult female but she invited our family at the training center after the show so Bela can meet the sea lions. Bela enjoyed the sea lion show as it was very entertaining (with audience participation) and the sea lion and Kuya Dan was really funny. After the show, we went to their training center and Bela had a VIP encounter with the sea lion and we had our photo op there.

Then we watched the Walk on the Wild Side show but since we’re late, we didn't find any vacant seats left and so we we’re standing up under the sun while watching the show and it was really hot. We did not watch the Rap, Jump and Roll show as it was held at an open theater and again, we don’t want to watch the show under the sun.

The last show that we saw was the Dolphins show and it is my favorite. I even prefer it than the Dolphin Show at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. After the show, I signed up for a photo encounter with the dolphins for Bela. The one in charge for the sign up was hesitant at first that Bela can have a picture with the dolphin on her own but they we’re amazed at how brave she is. The only time she asked her dad to carry her was when she noticed that her boots are getting wet already. LOL. But she had a blast playing with the dolphins.

And by the way, we got our tickets at 50% off because they offer 50% discount until March for all embassy and airline staff. So even though there are some instances that we felt we are unlucky, the day ended really well as Bela really had a time of her life. I will definitely go back here.

You can view more pictures here.

For Bela, Beach is Love

Bela is such a beach lover. Every time we go to the beach, she is not like the other kids who will get scared of the waves but instead is comfortable in playing and swimming in the ocean.

That is why hubby and I are thinking of having a romantic vacation riviera maya for our next vacation getaway. With Karisma Hotels and Resorts, who says that a vacation with your kids will not be romantic? Their Azul Beach hotel is a family friendly resort. They only have 98 rooms in the hotel which means that the resort is not crowded which is really perfect for a romantic family getaway. They also provide strollers, cribs and even baby milk heater so we don’t have to bring these things which are really heavy and bulky and are really the part that I hate every time we travel. They also offer different activities that both kids and adults will enjoy.

I am sure Bela will have a great time at Azul Beach Hotel.

Bela @ SG Zoo - a snapshot

Don’t I look fat in this picture and looks like I will need the best weight loss pills? But anyway, I still opted to post it in my Flickr account as this is one of the pictures where you can see that Bela did had fun while we were in Singapore.

Last year when we watched the Elephants at Work and at play show, Bela was already so tired that she was already throwing tantrums and did not really enjoyed the show. But this time, even though she did not take a nap, she watched the show with so much excitement and enthusiasm. It was a thirty minutes show and she did not even get bored for even one bit.

After the show, there was an elephant feeding program where for SGD $ 5, you will be given a basket of fruits to be fed to the elephants. I thought Bela will be so tired for this but she was still all game when I asked her if she wants to feed the elephants.

I still have to make one official post of our SG and KL trip but for the meantime, you can check out pictures for our two days in Singapore here.

Bela @ SG

We are now here in Kuala Lumpur and my conference will start tomorrow. I know I still have to look for life insurance quotes as we have to renew ours, but I can’t wait to post some pictures of our two days in Singapore.

We decided to go to Singapore as we know that Bela will have a great time there as she just loves animals. We only have few leaves left so we only have two days to spend in Singapore. Since this trip is really for Bela, our IT was just to visit the places where she will really have fun.

Since this is our second time in Singapore, Bela was familiar with the places that she can visit so she was the one making decision on where to go first. We first visited the Jurong Bird Park since we were not able to check it out last time and I am sure Bela’s favorites were:

Her close encounter with the parrots at the Children’s Parrot Show

Her photo op experience with the owl.

Her play time with the free flying birds at the Lory Loft.

Then the next day, we went to Singapore zoo. The highlights of our trip there are:

Her elephant ride.

The very wet kiss that she got from Carlos, the sea lion.

And she was able to feed the elephants.

Bela did not the sleep the whole day during those trips but she was so energetic. She was really in heaven and she kept on kissing us because she really had fun.

To KL?

I might leave for 4 days on the first week of November to attend a conference. Since we just got back from a three-week vacation where we left Bela behind, I am not sure if I can leave again for four days without her. I know I can rely on chat software and webcam so I can still talk to her and see her during those four days. And it will not be that difficult since I will just be going to Malaysia so time difference will not really be a problem so four days will just pass like that and before I knew it, it is already time for me to go home.

But we owe Bela a vacation for leaving her behind when hubby and I went on vacation, so hubby and I thought that he and Bela will be joining me for this business trip. The conference will be from Nov 1 – 4 so we can just leave ahead like Oct 29, so we have at least three days to go around.

From what I initially researched on, the only interesting place that we can visit where Bela can enjoy is Genting Highlands. We also need to check out the Petronas Tower and I have to search if there is any zoo or Oceanarium that we can visit as I know Bela will really enjoy that.

Hubby is also asking me to check if it is possible for us to go to Singapore also. I still have to wait if my attendance to the conference will be approve and until then, I don’t what to proceed in making any definite travel plans.

Bela's New Toys

These are some of the toys that we got for Bela from our recent trip.

We really feel sad and guilty for leaving Bela, and although these material things can’t bring back the time when we are away from her, we want to make it up to Bela by buying her things that she loves the most….toys.

Our initial plan was we will just bring her to Duty Free when we’re back since we can’t find any nice toy stores in the first three cities that we have been too. But luckily, we found a nice little store in Venice that sells animal toys (which is similar to the crab in the show Save-Ums) and we we’re also able to find Smurfs toys (well I think Howell likes this more than Bela. LOL).

In Paris, I found a Disney Store along Champs Elysees and bought toys and Disney shirts for her too. And since we got the 5-day metro pass in Paris, we were able to drop by at Disneyland also (but we did not go inside. We shop at Disney village where they have a big Disney store). We bought a lot of Disney toys here too. Howell was also eyeing to buy the Wall-e robot which was on sale (Euro 15) but we figured it will be too big for our luggage.

Bela was ecstatic upon seeing her new toys and she can’t wait to open them. She immediately played with it and she love it to bits.