Family Beach Trip: Alegre Beach Resort, Cebu

Hello there blog world! I am back from a veeeerrrrryyyyy long hiatus! I know all of you have been waiting for my next post and been bugging me to post a new one ever since I got silent. Please forgive me, motherhood got in the way and two kids under two wasn't an easy task. ( this is me talking to my imaginary blog readers :p )

Well, in case someone out there discovers this blog and finds it helpful and useful, then maybe it's worth writing stuff and keeping this back up again. I've got so much to share and stories to tell about our family trips; to the beach, to some famous cities, to our hometown and day-outs in our current home - Singapore.

Let me start my "welcome-back-blog-post" with our first family beach get-away in 2013, 2 months after I gave birth to our first son, Lujan. (this sounds so loong ago :p)

Mandatory mirror selfie for first time parents :)

Mandatory bed selfie with our little bub, who looked so excited to be out with Mama and Papa :)

Our little family's first beach trip was in Alegre Beach Resort, located in Calumboyan, Sogod, Cebu Philippines. This town is approximately 1.5 to 2 hours north of Cebu City. If you are traveling with young kids, it is best to arrange a private transportation to the resort. Otherwise, taking the Ceres bus at the North reclamation bus terminal is also an option. These buses already have air conditioned types, so it's safe to say that traveling is quite convenient and they have hourly trips scheduled.

What I like most about this resort is the privacy. Their location is not very convenient, I must say, because the resort is about 15 minutes from the main road. They are the only resort in the area. You won't find passersby or vendors selling along the beach. They are so private that you won't even think of going somewhere else to eat. But that's the beauty of it! The place is exactly where you'd want to be if you want a relaxing and quiet time at the beach.

Before we had our son, our travels always involved beach trips. However, it became seldom when I got pregnant. When we decided to give birth in our hometown in Cebu, I've imagined many times the beach trips we will have as a family.

Finally, it happened on Mother's day in May 2013, 2 months after I gave birth to our first-born. The preparation I did wasn't quite extensive as I thought it would be traveling with a baby in tow. I had the essentials ready - milk, feeding bottles, baby clothes, nappies, baby wipes, toiletries, cleaning items and more baby clothes. My family thought we'll be away for a week instead of just one night, when they saw the huge bag I brought only for the baby. I did not take the risk of running out of anything since it was our first family trip. Well, it is always good to be prepared than be sorry considering that the resort's location is nowhere near any convenient store. 

What we realised during the trip was to schedule our activities according to the baby's feeding and nap time. Babies his age only cares about drinking milk and sleeping. We learned to sacrifice our time at the beach because we can't be under the sun all the time with the baby. We also learned to be efficient at meal time since it's not all the time the baby is in a good mood. Always anticipate melt downs, was what I always had in mind. Good thing our baby was such a trooper. He loved the beach as much as we did. He slept soundly on the beach chair while we had our brief couple time. He showed amazement and excitement at the sound of the waves and the sand touching his feet. He was very curious of his surrounding and smiled happily looking around. We knew back then that it was just the beginning of the many more beach trips we will have as a family.

Thank you Alegre for the wonderful experience on Mother's day! The place and food was already a treat. But since the day was special for mothers, you made me feel pampered and extra-special with a spa massage and flowers. It was indeed an unforgettable day with my little family. The resort will always be one of my happy places in Cebu and I know for sure that I will keep coming back. 'Til next time!

Thank God for grandma and best friend who picked us at the resort :)

Singapore: Our second home

Yes, after my 4 months maternity break in Cebu, we are back in Singapore. It feels good to be back. I've never missed Singapore like this before. It felt like a huge part of me was left behind in this little red dot and I have to be reunited with it. So here we are...

Life now has been totally different with the little one in tow. The impromptu getaways and dine outs are long gone. Planning is the thing for us now. Even day outs have to be planned ahead of time. We cannot just decide on the last minute as to where to go because we have to consider the weather and the place so the little one will be comfortable. So far, it's been good and we've fairly survived.

I am just glad that there are other mamas here who are passionate in helping other mamas out there. It makes motherhood a lot more fun and easier. I've first bumped into one of the most helpful and informative mama website while planning for our trip to Hongkong last year. And I was very happy when I found out that they created one here in Singapore too.  It has been my go-to-guide ever since. From kid friendly cafes/restaurants, weekend activities for the kids and even mama's pampering guide. (Yes, that is a must!)

The cable car experience in Hong Kong!

Our last day in Hong Kong was spent in Lantau Island to see the Po Lin Monastery and Great Buddha.

There used to be only two ways to get to the island from Hong Kong mainland - a bus service and a one hour mountain trail. Good thing they decided to construct the use of the cable cars, it made the journey short and easy - just 25 minutes to reach the island.

This is our second cable car ride as a family. First was in Genting Highlands. I thought, this time I will have an easier time coping up with my fear of heights because the whole family is with me but sadly, to no avail. Every cable car ride feels the same way to me...SCARY! The reminder to keep my smile didn't work for me :P 25 minutes felt like 1 hour! I should have taken the mountain trail, I think I will have a better photo than this :P

And this by far is the highest and longest cable car ride in Southeast Asia. How did I survived?

Well, these photos will tell you how =)

Notice how lady-like my smile is? That's the i-want-to-get-outta-here smile :P

They distracted me by taking photos and having fun inside the cable car  :D However, we made sure that we don't move that much so not to cause some swinging movement of the car.  Because while up high, we suddenly heard the strong sound of the wind through sides of the door. My father was sitting still and checking the durability of the glasses (as if! haha). He too looked scared but pretended calm :P

It sure did help that I was with a bunch of equally crazy people. Even my little brother was teasing and laughing at me. But if you ask me if I want to do it again, why not!? Although I would prefer to do it again with these same people.

This ride is not for the faint-hearted. You've got to enjoy heights and slow rides to appreciate this experience. But I'd still recommend this as part of your family trip itinerary when you visit Hong Kong. The view up there is just amazing. Promise :)

We LOVE Bohol Bee Farm.

My friends are right! This place is such a happy place - Full of pretty rustic things. Food is healthy and organic. Decors were handcrafted and some were made from old/reusable materials.

Everything inside Bohol Bee Farm is screaming lovely. I want to visit this place again and stay at least a night or forever :D

My favorite table set-ups in their resto - vintage sewing machine converted to dining table, pretty table tops, rustic wooden tables. Love!

Their homemade Malunggay and Spicy Ginger ice cream is a must try!

Some of their handcrafted decors - inspiring and full of bold colors. These were labor of love from talented women who work in the farm.

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And of course, food and drinks are healthy because they promote organic farming. Everything served in their restaurant were harvested from their farm. If you want to know how they do it, you better join one of their guided farm tours when you visit the place.

Yes, we can eat the flowers according to the tour guide (although we were very hesitant to do so :D). These flowers are edible because of pollination. 

By their name itself, yes, they have beehives in the farm :)

Family Trip to HongKong (Part 1)

I am back! :P

Sorry for the hibernation guys, I was in a "homesick" state after my three weeks vacation in Cebu. It took me quite a while to shoo away the sadness of missing my family and friends back home. But anyway, I am back and almost done editing all our vacation photos. Whew! I learned photoshop instantly because I want all our photos to look lovely :D

So firstly, I want to share our first family trip abroad with the complete cast. I can't even describe exactly how happy we were to finally realized this trip. Yes, it was expensive to travel in a big group but travelling with your loved ones makes you forget all the moolah you spent :) Life is short!

We stayed in this little guesthouse located in Nathan Road. It's not that fancy but it's decent and affordable. Good and comfortable enough for families and friends. Location wise is perfect for first timers because its nearby Tsim Sha Tsui MTR/Interchange and bus stop where you can take buses to the airport. Although food is not that accessible if you're looking to try on some local delicacies. I mean if you are travelling with your family, its quite cumbersome to look around the place for the perfect resto for everyone. But there's always Mcdonalds and Pizzahut nearby to save your day ;)

We started our first day with a photowalk around Nathan Road and HK Central.

I love their city bus :)

Fishing at the Causeway. (not really sure :P)

The MTR near our guesthouse.

And of course, I paid a visit to where all my lomo inspiration came from :) To my husband's surprise, I didn't buy anything :D It's a new branch in Tsim Sha Tsui.

HongKong's streets are so pretty and full of interesting stuffs. I was really amused at how messy, busy, at the same time pretty each and every corner is. Sadly, I failed to take lots of pictures because my camera went battery dead. Epic fail. Gosh!

'Til here. Will post second day soon. Promise :D