Hong Kong Relaxing Trip for a Family with Kid

 

Hi AMW Friends!

As promised, I am sharing my quick itinerary (or non-itinerary version) of our quick Hong Kong trip for a family of 3 with a 10-year old boy who already visited Hong Kong Disneyland few years back.  So this is a quick spoiler for you that we did not include Disneyland HK!

Day ONE:

Important note to book your WIFI gadget in advance especially if you have an airport transfer booked!  It is best and easiest way to communicate with your driver upon arrival without the need to pick up WIFI or Simcard (Which will take additional time!)

Time is GOLD so I booked our WIFI via Big Sky Nation.  Use NIKKITRAVELS to get 20% off your booking when you book https://bigskynation.com/. 

Also, since we are a family of 3 with heavy luggages (hello winter clothes!)  We have decided to book private airport transfers straight to the hotel via KLOOK.  Feel free to use AMWTRAVELS for extra discounts because these 2 travel services ROCK!  I am hooked with these 2.

So during our arrival after relaxing for a few minutes in the hotel, we explored Causeway Bay and dined at our favorite Cafe De Coral!  

Watch this Day one video!

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Day TWO:

We planned HK for the fact that HK has Legoland Disocvery Center!  We flew before weekend to make sure we don’t go with the crowd!  Imagine weekend right?  So we booked our tickets on Legoland Discovery HK Website 

Before day 2, I did some reserach on how to reach K11 Musea (where Legoland Center is located) and decided go look for Restaurants we can try on the way —- as forcing ourselves to look for Michelin starred restaurants would take time.

Since K11 Musea itself is a place to visit, we were able to try the famous Mak’s Noodles right at K11 Musea foodcourt!

Watch our Legoland Adventure —-

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Watch our Day 2 Adventure ——

We had the whole night free so we visited Victoria Harbour for the Light Show.

Happy 2024!

 

Hello AMW FRIENDS!

Oh My Goodness!  How long has it been since my last post? *Checked*

Okay, last post November 2023.  Not that bad but considering it is ME, who loves to talk and ramble about random things here on my blog, it seems FOREVER!

Life happens!  Not the bad one thank God but I was busy with work, you all know about yearend panic for my clients.  Also, my son’s Final Exams (ooohhh Grade 5!) and….

After COVID-19 scare, we finally booked a short trip (in a whim!) to Hong Kong!  

We originally wated to go to Japan but it was a last minute decision we don’t have time to fix our Visas.  We traveled the day after my son’s FINAL EXAM DAY and he needed to go back to school 5 days after for Christmas Party and Program so I took advantage of this 5 days to visit one of my favorite place —- Hong Kong!

We as FROZEN family just wanted to be immersed in Winter season :D

Why This Bag Is More Than Amazing!

You've probably seen me rave about this recent travel crossbody bag of mine on Instagram so many times!  Because seriously, this bag deserves a special mention especially for busy moms like me!

I mean even when you're BUSY in general!

Beside U Valdes Crossbody Bag (Black)

Beside U is dated back in 1979 when Lee Family founded and began their small handbag crafting business.  Years later, the family decides to briefly stay all the way in Europe.  Comes 2005, the family returned to California and designed their bags inspired by the history of Goodge St. Station in Europe were they stayed.

Beside U brand is available in 14 countries and counting.

Things to Do In Taipei with Kids + Tips

We used to travel once or twice a year.  Then when Kyle came along, we skipped going out on out of country trips for the past 4  years.  Then, when we took a plunge last year to a very short Hong Kong trip as Kyle was into Disney characters back then, we realized: "Hey, we can finally travel as a family again!"  

Kyle was amazingly obedient during our Hong Kong trip so this year, after a crazy start of a year and with Kyle's school break in mind, it was late at night when I told Mr. AMW: "Let's go on a trip!  Let's do this!"  With only a week or so planning, we originally wanted Singapore but the heat and humid made us go for Taipei (still hot, at least not as humid!)  

But what to do in Taipei?  That's the first question we had in mind.  I've been to Taipei 15 years ago and Mr. AMW went with his schoolmates for a month-long TAIWAN tour 20 years ago.  I knew we had to go back and refresh our memories on how Taiwan looks like nowadays.

When I searched for Kid-friendly places, I was surprised how Taiwan is actually a kid-friendly country that no one really talks about!  They have their own version of Disneyland called Leofoo Theme Park.  They have their own Ocean Park in Beitou, they have their own Space Museum and a whole lot more!

That excites us so we finally booked a date and time flew by pretty quickly.  We didn't even purchased any tourist pass as we just want to go with the flow and see how Kyle would react to these sites!  And the entrance aren't expensive anyways so this is another alternative for moms and dads who want to bring their kids to a kid-friendly country!  THIS IS IT!  Are you ready?

Taipei Children's Amusement Park

Price: 60NT (kids below 7 yrs old goes in for free!), a deposit of at least 100NT is needed and refunded amount will be given back before 5:00pm

Address: No. 55, Section 5, Chengde Road, Shillin District, Taipei City

How to Get There: MRT to Jiantan Station or Shilin Station and make transfers on a shuttle bus.

Opening hours: 

Tip: Since we booked a hotel at ZhongShan district which is just 2 stations away from Shilin Station, we've decided to take a cab going there since it costs around 200NT only (less than Php400.00 one way).  We want to reserve our energy for fun playing inside the park!  If you live far from the park, take an MRT station to Shilin station and take a cab from there, it will be way cheaper!

This amusement park includes a brand new Ferries Wheel which you won't miss!  There's also Bumper Cars, Ocean Carousel (musical carriage), Dancing Fly (dragon boat), Wave Swinger, Monorail and Spinning Tea cups, Roller Coaster, Crazy Bus, Drop Tower, Pirate Ship, Telecombat and Spinning Chairs.

Taipei Travel: Yomi Hotel Review

I am a researcher by profession, I also graduated with honors Bachelors in Science in TOURISM.  I used to dream to be a tour guide, a travel coordinator, an agent.  That part of my dream did not happen but it happened in so many different ways.

Me touring my colleagues when I worked in China as I speak the language.  

Me creating our special itinerary whenever we travel.

Me doing all sorts of tour guide jobs whenever friends from different countries arrive here.

So yes, that job I take seriously and our last minute decision to go on family vacation while Kyle is on summer break tested my research skill once again!  And so far, my gut-feel did not fail me!  I booked one of the best hotel in Taipei and mind you - it isn't even pricey! 

P.S. NOT SPONSORED.  But totally happy with this 3-star hotel!

A tip to mommies or even non-mommies - start with your daily accommodation budget and stat from there, that way, you won't get overwhelm with a LONG list of hotel.  Next, read reviews via TripAdvisor or Agoda.  Take time to read them one by one before you take the plunge! Thing to note for?  How far it is located from public transport, what can the hotel offer?  Do they have nearby convenience stores?  What are the places you want to visit and if all else's fail, how long will it take to take a taxi/cab from your hotel to the place of interest?   (this is very important if you have kids!  at some point, you may feel extremely tired so taxi will be the last option and you don't want to spend too much if the point of interest is far from your hotel!)

That said, I booked a hotel at ZhongShan district because our points of interest are the ff.: Children's Amusement Park, Children's Astronomical Museum, Shilin Market, Taipei Zoo, etc...

If your points of interests are touristy spots like Chiang Kai Shek, Taipei 101, Ximen, etc... you may opt to look for hotels at Taipei Main Station are, Ximenting, etc..

Now back to Yomi Hotel, I got around 3 hotels fit to our budget to go for.  The reason why Yomi won after reading reviews from fellow travelers who have kids!  Now, with pictures, let me share to you why this Hotel WON!

Kid-friendly room, meaning, good-sized bed and spacious room and bathroom!

Huge TV with several channels that are kid-friendly!  We forgot our Chromecast but yay for Disney Channel (note: you just have to change the language setting as they were originally in Chinese!)  But yes, this kid-friendly TV gave me time to put on makeup, dry my hair, change clothes while Kyle enjoy his own me-time.



Now, the FREEBIES list goes ON AND ON AND ON!  Seriously, I can't find another hotel who offers such!

Free use of WIFI unit, you just have to go to the reception area and make sure to return it by 12:00am.  If you stay for 5 days, you can borrow it every single day FOR FREE!  I did not borrow a WIFI unit as I brought my own Big Sky Nation!

Why It is A Wonderful Idea to "Food Trip" In Taiwan

I'm back from one of the best place to food trip - TAIPEI, TAIWAN!

After non-stop eating (well, you can see that on my IG Stories on Taiwan Highlights), I'm bound to say, if you are into food, you better visit Taiwan because the foodie in me and hubby were happy and contented!

Why?

Let's start with ---

MILK TEA

What's the best place to enjoy milk tea?  The place were milk tea was born!  You see stall after stalls of milk tea from various brands and I randomly tried a couple (6 to be exact) and they are all consistently good!  Not as sweet yet you have the right "bitter taste" of the tea!  That's how I like my milk tea to be.

And guess what?  I also tried their Brown Sugar Milk from Xing Fu Tang and it's the best I've tried to date! 

Xing Fu Tang located at Shilin Night Market

Milk Tea from the shop at Children's Amusement Park

And here's the best part, Taiwan product yummy milk tea even those that are sold at convenient stores tastes just as good! 

I am Back From Taipei!!!

And I need your help in creating a blog post about my wonderful 5-day Taipei Trip!

Which particular blog post do you want me to tackle first?

The hotel I stayed in?

The Taipei Food Trip?

Why I Love Aureo La Union

A lot of you who follow me on Social Media probably saw that I spent a couple of days in Aureo La Union with my family after my birthday.  It was a nice post-birthday celebration with my family and it was a good breather to be out of the city!

Aureo Resort is located in the heart of La Union and it took us a good 4-hour drive going there (thanks NLEX and TPLEX!)

Let me tell you just SOME of the many reasons why I love it there.

LOCATION

I did say it took us 4-hour long drive but it was the easiest drive for us (I like the drive going there better than Tagaytay as it is less congested, just make sure to travel off-peak hours)

Located at San Fernando, you can easily find it there via Waze.  You won't miss this sign!

And if you're the type who loves to go surfing or maybe food trip in La Union?  You can easily drive for about 30 minutes and you are there at San Juan, La Union.

KTO Ladies' Special Food Edition

If you ask me what my favorite dish is, my answer will always be Korean!

After a long day of work, I always go to my favorite restaurant Korean Village or eat Ghalbi and Samgyeopsal at Mak Chang.  Ask me about the best Korean restaurants in town, I'll probably give you a list or two.

When I was invited to joan the #LadiesSpecial Tour arranged by Korea Tourism Organization, Cebu Pacific and JG Summit Holdings, I got excited to see Korea again in a different light and dine in restaurants as approved by the KTO!  Seriously, the best person to guide you to the best restaurants in town would be people living there!  Thanks Alice, our Tour Guide, for arranging everything!

I'm sure some of you have plans to visit Seoul anytime soon!  So please check out my short list of "Where to Dine in Seoul"!  Enjoy!

Palsaek Samgyeopsal

Address: 1-65 Dongsung-Dong, Jongno-Gu, Seoul (서울시 종로구 동숭동 1-65번지)

Tel: +82-2-766-8006

Hours: 11:00-23:00

Palsaek Samgyeopsal is a well known Korean BBQ restaurant not only in Korea but they have branches worldwide - USA, Malaysia, Taiwan, etc... (Come to Manila Please!)

This restaurant serves pork belly meat in eight different special sauces.  A perfect way to try out various flavors in ONE order.

My Ladies' Special Experience in Seoul, Korea (Part 2)

So you've read My Ladies' Special Experience in Seoul, Korea Part 1 and I hope you enjoyed my story-telling and will enjoy reading Part 2.

In Seoul, though it is the Capital of South Korea and probably appears like any other cities across the world when you Google photos online.  Seoul has an innate beauty waiting to be explored.  Once you visit the city, you'll long to go back.  The feeling is just unexplainable and definitely beyond K-Dramas and K-Pop artists. 

As promised, here's Part Two of the Ladies' Special arranged by Korea Tourism Organization, JG Summit Holdings, Inc. and Cebu Pacific Air.  I hope I inspired you to want to visit the city too because I'll definitely go back with the family!

6. Grévin Seoul Museum
1 adult pass to enter Grévin Seoul Museum costs 18,000KRW (around Php588.00 local currency) and you can spend half a day inside max.  The Grévin Seoul  is a waxwork museum established recently (year 2015 to be exact). If you think this museum is only found in Korea, you are wrong (okay fine, we are wrong!)  Musee Grévin is France's famous beeswax museum and they have branches in Paris, Montreal, Prague then the first in Asia which is located in Korea.  

What makes Grévin Seoul unique from the ones you're used to seeing?

They added a slew of South Korean hallyu celebrities like Psy, G Dragon, Kim Yuna (figure skating star), plus historical figures such as King Sejong and General Yi Sun-Sin.

Ladies' Special: Tongin Market

I have always been fascinated with Korean Street Food that's why that was the first thing on my "to-do" (or shall I say, to-eat) list when I first visited the country.

It has always been Myeongdong for me for Streetfood but I'm glad I joined in the Korea Tourism Organization Ladies' Tour with fellow media partners and we had our own tour guide to bring us to another unique way to enjoy Korean Street Food - via Lunchbox using Old Korean Currency.

Tongin Market

This market dates back to June 1941.  According to our guide, the market consists of more than 75 stores in which you can try out authentic Korean Food, you can even buy fresh fruits and vegetables and even manufactured goods like shoes and clothing.

Here's what to do if you are a first-time visitor at Tongin Market.
Go straight to the "cashier" section wherein you pay 5,000KRW and you receive 10 brass coins (coins with hole that olden times use) which can be exchanged for various food.  1 coin is equivalent to 500KRW and most food costs around 1,000KRW to 2,000KRW.

My Ladies' Special Experience in Seoul, Korea (Part 1)

Ever wonder what a #LadiesSpecial tour is?

In the first place, I didn't know such tour can exist and how fun it can be!  But truth is, this tour can be called a Ladies' Special but if you give it a little tweak, this can be a tour for everyone! 

When Cebu Pacific, JG Summit Holdings Inc and Korea Tourism Organization invited me together with 8 other Media, Blogger and Vlogger friends, I knew I had to say yes because this is the chance of a lifetime for me to go back to Seoul! The last time I visited the city was five years ago and I vouched to ho back! Thank God it finally happened!

So what can you expect when you travel with Ladies?  It's a mixture of Fun, Girl-themed tours with loads of "Oppa talks"! I'm glad they inserted Cultural Tours which is very important for me whenever I travel.

Shall we start?

My Keeping It Together Travel Essentials

Since Kyle came to the world, Mr. AMW and I didn't travel as much as we did in the past but now that he's 4, I am a little but pulling myself away from our usual "clingy-ness".  So this year, I said YES to 2 business trips (both in Thailand) and it worked pretty well.  I missed him a lot (so does he) but we survived the #sepanx !  

Since most of my trips are short yet very busy!  I make sure to make most of my organization skills!  I make sure I practice my "OC" skills not only in makeup artistry but also when it comes to packing my things.  

I kind of mastered that when I had to lug ONE YEAR'S Worth of AMW items for 1 full year when I worked abroad inside a 30kg luggage!  So a short 4 days trip is just a walk at a park -- with the help of my favorite brand for organization --- K.I.T. Keeping It Together!

Aside from my favorite containers from the said brand, I was recently gifted an Airline Carry On Clear Travel Bag (Sets of 4) (Php395.00), a monogrammed KIT Jiro Bag Organizer (Php445.00-495.00) and KIT Jiro Shoe Bag (Php495.00-550.00).  

These are heaven-sent!  Thanks Mich!

For the bag organizer, this is perfect for my Anello Bag because it goes way to the bottom.  Since this backpack is structured, I can easily reach out for my wallet, ballpen, comb, lipbalm, alcohol or any random stuff I need that I can carry inside the plane!  I also like the zippered portion where I can keep important stuff like my license and credit card.

As for the Airline Carry On Clear Travel Pouches, I highly appreciate these like the invention of internet!  As much as I love cute designed pouches, when it comes to travel, I like them clear so I can easily see what I need!

ABBC 2017 Philippines and Thailand Competition

God is really good to me when he gave me the opportunity to host the Asian Beauty Blogger Contest 2017 Philippines.  It happened so quickly I almost didn't get the chance to recover from all the excitement.

If you haven't watched the videos, the 3-part Competition has been uploaded on Cathy Doll Philippines' Youtube page.

Cathy Doll's 5th Year Anniversary Celebration in Bangkok, Thailand

So today is my birthday!  Yes, I am a year older and this post came right on time!  For me, getting older means getting extremely grateful for a year's worth of "life" and "experiences", a year older means conquering your fear too!  

I look like a very strong woman, but I do have my own fears!  Okay, this may sound too "OA" (Overacting) but I fear of separation with my toddler, you guys who follow my travel "logs" would probably realize how I haven't traveled for the past 3 years (last one was in the US with Kyle and Mr. AMW).  

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email to attend Cathy Doll's 5th Year Anniversary in Bangkok and I told myself it is TIME for me to go and conquer my fear of Separation Anxiety #Sepanx at the same time, appreciate the opportunities that was offered to me!  I finally said YES, and it was one of the BEST YES I did before I turn a year older.

Juggling multiple tasks and jobs on hand, I guess I don't have enough time to expand my learnings, so I guess at this stage, the best learning is through life's lesson and this short trip is an eye-opener for me!  There really isn't any "division" when it comes to the world of Beauty...people really flock together, giving each other's smiles (even with the lack of language skills) just because we all understand our similar passion.

That's me, sick and all but happy in Bangkok 

I realized Cathy Doll is indeed super Big in Thailand, they have ads almost EVERYWHERE! 

With just a full day in Bangkok and the rest of the days for travel, I am so glad to get to squeeze in a quick visit in one of their Karmart Store located at Siam.

Karmart is where you will find Cathy Doll products in Thailand same in modern trade channels such as 7-Eleven, Watsons, etc.. 

I got in to check out Cathy Doll Products and actually see which products we don't have here locally.

#TravelMore with Smart Postpaid Surf Abroad

I recently attended an event for Smart Postaid Surf Abroad hosted by Luis Manzano and Bianca Valerio.  It was when both hosts shared about their favorite destination --- Japan, brought me back to my first ever Tokyo Japan trip.

That's me looking flabbergasted (even on back view) because it is really confusing trying to navigate yourself from one point to another especially in different language!

Smart Tips During Travel

Just for laughs...I thought of creating a short "comic strip" of us during our most recent travel in the US last March. 

I checked my email and saw a nice promo from Smart Communications called ALL-Day Surf Abroad.  I thought of sharing this to my fellow Smart subscribers who plan to travel and wanted to keep their friends updated through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

The moment we landed San Francisco Airport, I went to purchase a US Sim Card immediately with internet plans.  The guy who picked us up immediately exclaimed to me that I shouldn't purchase one because it is double the price as compared to purchasing it in the city.  As much as I would love to save up, who can wait until they get into the city and wait until the next day (as I arrived midnight) to let my family know I'm safe through Whatsapp?  NOT ME!

And since I get a lot of queries on how I deal with internet connection when I travel, well here's the best solution so you don't have to worry about bill shock.

AskMeMom: Travel with a Baby

Hi AMW Friends!
How are you today? I have a couple of mommy readers who emailed me and asked me how it was to travel with Baby AMW during my most recent US Trip!  I won't lie....it is extremely CHALLENGING but definitely a challenge worth accepting as exploring a new country with the people you love is PRICELESS!

Tip #1 RESEARCH
Prior to visiting San Francisco and Los Angeles, I made research on how the weather was by asking friends and relatives who live there!  I knew San Francisco will be windy and cold so I brought extra jacket and pants for layering! 

This layering may look funny but it helped keep Baby AMW warm!

Weekend Food Trip at: Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich, LA

Hi AMW Friends!
Happy Sunday!  I spent my weekend staying at home as I have cough, sore throat and a bit of fever!  Since I'm stuck at home, I might as well share my lovely food experiences in the US!  I can't believe it has been a week that I'm back!  I really missed my friends and family in the US!

Today, I will be sharing my favorite food chain in the US for now!  I haven't tried a lot but Arby's definitely went up to my top favorite restaurant chain!  When we drove by Arby's and I saw a huge "Roast Beef Sandwich" sign, in my head, I was thinking: "Not again!"  Don't get me wrong, I'm not being ungrateful but I'm really just too tired to eat and all I need is a good night sleep!

As soon as we got in the restaurant, I can't believe a burger chain could have THIS MUCH food selection!

Weekend Food Trip at: Mel's Diner and Denny's

Hi AMW friends!
Finally, food post for our US trip!  In San Francisco, we were so tired and probably jet-lagged especially on our first 3 days so the Food Coma I was expecting didn't happen as we literally have a messed up schedule on eating and sleeping!

As tired and sleepy as we are, we need to eat and we did managed to get into 2 diners that is quite famous in the city!  Mel's Diner and Denny's!  Both diners' closing time is late!  Perfect for very late night customers like the AMW family!

Mel's Diner

Once you get in Mel's diner, you definitely get the "diner" feel you see in most American Movies.  In my mind, I thought of milk shakes, fries and a whole-lotta dancing!