transposable element

i’m a beach holiday kind of person and i’m lucky because here in southeast asia, it’s beach climate pretty much the whole year round anyway. a holiday in Branson, missouri is not my cup of coffee, and if i were to travel to the states, this is a destination that will miss my radar for sure. would be different if i lived, there, perhaps. if a laid back, country holiday is what you’re looking for, perhaps branson is just right for you.

branson is said to be the live entertainment capital of the world (or maybe the people who coined that moniker just haven’t been to malate, manila) and you can book holiday packages that already include tickets to some of the shows. there is a variety of lodging options to choose from — from luxury hotels such as the welk resort and grand oaks, to picturesque cabins at grand mountain, to private and cosy condo units. kids will also be spoilt for choice on the fun attractions available: the titanic museum, ware rides, go-kart, mini-golf, imax, and other nature-inspired activities. the ultimate offering for the more gutsy ones, though, is the silver dollar city theme park:

Nestled in the forested hills just minutes from Branson, Silver Dollar City has everything you could want for a family vacation. Take a remarkable journey back in time to experience true, old-fashioned Americana and Ozark splendor. Silver Dollar City boasts over 30 rides and attractions and is home to the amazing Marvel Cave, but what makes this theme park truly unique is the dozens of craftsman that practice the same skills used by the residents of the Ozarks who lived here in the 19th century, from baking to metal crafting.

it’s definitely a different league from disneyland, but should be very educational as well as entertaining.

all these talk about passports and travel makes the sols of my feet itch. and the knowledge that i can’t, not until mia is a bit tougher, make the longing to go places all the more acute.

strange, but now that we’re in asia, am longing to see europe again. i guess i’ve not yet had enough of it after all. i know jan wouldn’t mind going to mallorca again. our vacation two years ago really made an impression on him, he still talks about it til today. and i don’t mind spending a summer week in prerow, probably germany’s equivalent to north carolina’s Outer Banks. yes, the water’s going to be cold, and the gusts of wind from the north sea will make my skin tingle. but considering the permanent sauna-weather we’ve been having here, i’m craving for a long walk on a long beach, letting gusts of crisp, cold wind tousle my hair, shivering a little, making a nice hot cup of coffee and a piece of cake in the afternoon all the more delectable.

ahh… why do we always long for what we don’t have?

i think i was 24 when i got a passport and only because i needed to travel abroad for work. during that time, there were no budget airlines, and airfares are prohibitively expensive such that to travel abroad for holidays was something only rich people did. never in my wildest dreams did i imagine that i would be traveling this much in my lifetime.

my children, though, by virtue of having relatives on opposite sides of the world, are destined to be voyagers from the start. jan was about 8 or 9 months when he got his passport and in the last five years, has probably clocked in more air miles than the average adult. and mia? she now has a passport, too, at the age of 3 weeks! no, no plans of traveling this early, but it’s a requirement for her residence permit here in singapore.

although both jan and mia are also pinoys by descent (jan was registered at the philippine embassy, then in bonn, and mia will be registered here in singapore as soon as i figure out how to prepare her footprint), they only have german passports. well, it’s the pragmatic choice, for travel convenience reasons, but recently, we were told that by law, they should be using a philippine passport when they enter the philippines. strange, as jan has always used his german one to enter the philippines and we never encountered problems at the immigration. and i am sure we aren’t the only ones. i can’t imagine american-born and thus american-passport holding pinoy kids use philippine passports to enter pinas, if they even have one at all!

how old were you when you got your passport? if you have a pinoy passport, what’s the color of your passport– brown, green, or black?

if there’s one seaside destination i wish i could see before i die, it would be seychelles. maldives comes second, although somehow, maldives does not seem as elusive a dream as seychelles. until we can scrape up the enough dough for such a dream holiday (when will that be? when the kids are done with college?!), there are other options. not as fantabulous and extravagant, but well, good enough for the meantime.

for those in the states, there’s hilton head south carolina, for example. Hilton Head Island offers a peaceful getaway and great resort accommodations, vacation homes, golf and tennis courses and clubs that are ranked among the top in the world. if that is your kind of holiday, hilton head may just be the right island getaway for you.

if money was no object, where in the world would you spend your dream holiday of a lifetime?

time to pack your Louis Vuittons and Zero Halliburtons (bought from greenhills, hehe): it’s travel time! take advantage of the “free” seats from cebu pacific and airasia! that’s if you feel inclined to book your tickets NOW for travel 6 months to a year down the road. i’ve checked the whole month of june and july, but never found a zero airfare for mnl-singapore on cebpac. and of course, it’s not really free, as you still have to pay the taxes, etc. talk about false advertising.

one can only guess how much busier the domestic air traffic has gotten the last few years in the philippines since the local airlines started to offer affordable airfares. i think the domestic airport has never had to handle so many passengers ever. one would think that with the exponential growth in their revenues from the airport taxes they are collecting, they would be able to upgrade the airport. the last time we were there in feb, it looked, felt, and sounded worse than bus terminal!

speaking of traveling, we need new suitcases. during our last trip to manila, we noticed that all are suitcases were already pretty worn out, getting threadbare at corners and wheels weren’t properly rolling anymore. i remember i bought my one in ‘98, for my first trip to germany, so that means it has served me for almost 10 years, and has already flown more than 120,000 km, plying the fra-mnl route yearly. time to retire.

what’s a good brand? samsonite or vuitton, sure, but i’m not in that budget (or social?) bracket. i’ve never heard much of Delsey luggages before, but they seem robust, particularly the hard-shell ones. i think i’d like to have something like the helium collection, though (cool name, after helium = lightest gas). like all pinoy balikbayans, i need something as lightweight as possible to maximize my luggage allowance. always gotta make room for pasalubongs!

on the other hand, if you want something really lightweight, nothing beats those striped shopping bags they sell in on the streets of divisoria, made of the same material used for rice sacks, just a bit sturdier. or if not those, then good ol’ karton bound with 10 kilometers of packaging tape, hehe. i always know there’s one other pinoy in the plane when the luggage belt churns out such packages, hehe.

perhaps i’m one of the few pinoys who’ve never really felt the pull to live in the so-called land of milk and honey. visit, yes, but live, uhm, not sure. my sister and her family are off for a 3-week US tour next month, and i’m green with envy, although if it was me, i would probably have gravitated towards the east coast more than the west. florida, new england and the tri-state area. thing is, most of our relatives are on the west coast, though, so that means no freeloading; we’ll have to fork out more $$$ for accommodations, if ever.

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we still haven’t gotten the chance to browse the shops for strollers. hubby was indisposed last weekend, walking cross-country, and i didn’t want to go to the shops alone. i’ve been trolling the web, though, but it seems like most of the sleek, lightweight, easy-to-fold models aren’t made for newborns.

among those in this category, which includes quinny and bugaboo, i found the mia moda cielo really cool, my jaw literally dropped as i watched the video demo. and it’s way cheaper, too. too bad, it’s only suitable for 6 months onwards….

this is not a paid post. –> feels kinda strange to feel compelled to point this out, though.

during our recent vaca in manila, we were able to peek into some of the newer malls (well, new to us). on the day we arrived, we had lunch at trinoma, a supposedly rather upscale mall in quezon city just across sm north edsa’s the block. the shops and restos are probably a bit more upscale, but the mall itself didn’t look classy particularly with its tile flooring. hubby and i both thought we still prefer the feel of glorietta… until we saw glorietta again. man, has that mall aged. granted, it has just been bombed recently, but it has lost its glamour, its sparkle, its vibe. i’ve been very fond of glorietta in its early years, and i was saddened to see it’s a has-been in so many ways.

tiendesitas has been there for so many years already, but this month was my and hubby’s first time to be there. i love it there. from the quaint furniture and antique stalls, to the variety of pinoy food and delicacies on offer. a perfect hang out place for balikbayans. we also checked out the fun ranch, and indoor place for kids just beside tiendesitas, but we didn’t stay long as jan wasn’t with us anyway.

we also got to see the mall of asia for the first time, the mall famed to be the largest in the country. i love, love, love the location of this mall, especially that of the restos that affords you a spectacular view of manila bay. here’s a videoclip:

and lastly, on our last evening in manila, we were able to check out serendra’s retail promenade. now that’s what i call posh. really classy storefronts, subtle ambiance, no loud digital signages and advertisements. really tastefully made. we had dinner al fresco at duo– great steaks, impeccable service! i think serendra could easily be a favorite hang-out among the balikbayans and expat communities.

manila. malls. you can’t have one without the other.

my sister’s family will be off to a small US tour in a couple of months and one of their stops will be las vegas to see a friend who’s offered them a place to stay for a few days and a car to use for the rest of their stay. no, unfortunately, with kids in tow, i doubt they’d be able to partake in the sin city’s offerings that much. but for those of you planning to visit vegas, here’s a good resource for Las Vegas Hotels, shows, tours, attractions, and more. book your accommodations online, reserve your tickets, and fill your itinerary with the best that las vegas has to offer. book your entire vacation using just one website!