Travel Blogs Directory

Welcome to my Travel Blog

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Hello and welcome to my Travel Blog Log! This page contains a links list to all my Travel Posts.  Please do share your own travel experiences here, it would be awesome to share travel stories with you all.

Photo Friday: A day in Cologne

Thought I'd try out a photo Friday sharing with a twist.  I've always thought photos are best shared with an anecdote, it makes it more interesting and definitely add another dimension to an otherwise 2 dimensional item (literally).

Cologne, Germany

This photo was taken during our Honeymoon Part 2 trip to Europe in 2013.  Posing beside the magnificent Cologne Cathedral (the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe) and feeling like we were doing our pre-nuptual photoshoot all over again.  We visited Cologne on a day trip with our awesome friends Hani & Tudoy who drove us all the way from Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The church had really intricate designs, a true masterpiece in architecture and sculpture, and also traditionally believed to be the home of the relics of the 3 wise men who visited Jesus when He was born...

Choco-late de Batirol in Baguio is heaven in a cup!

The rich chocolate aroma wafted in our general direction, and all of us went... "mmmm... sarap!"

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Chocolate de Batirol, the perfect place to spend a cool and sunny Baguio afternoon

Inside Baguio City's Camp John Hay is a little restaurant called Choco-late de Batirol. Oozing with character, this rustic resting spot is the perfect place to spend a cool and sunny Baguio afternoon, sipping chocolate based drinks while reading a good book, or just hanging out with friends and family...

Reyjr goes Hawaii Five-O!

Hawaii Five-O! That unmistakable opening title sequence music brings back childhood memories. The original series ended wayyy before I was born and so I never saw a single episode, but despite that, the opening theme sounds fresh to my ears...

Hawaii Five O!

I've been to Hawaii twice - the first time was in the year 2000 during the 14th International Tour of the UP Concert Chorus.  Everyone was excited about Hawaii - the first stop of the 2000 Millennium Concert Tour - I was particularly interested because of all the hype about Hawaii being a paradise, with luscious forests and active volcanoes, creamy white sand beaches and surfing waves...


Liz and Rey at the Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii (taken on April 16, 2003)

Dreaming of a European Holiday Getaway?

Dreaming of a European Holiday Getaway?

Reyjr traveling in Europe

I am too.  Ever since I got the opportunity to travel around Europe - to countries like Italy, Germany, Spain, and France - I've always wanted to go back, hopefully next time around, for a real holiday vacation (or maybe for our Honeymoon!)

I am dreaming of visiting centuries old buildings and structures in Italy, walking on the cobblestone street, staying at villas in Greece with fantastic views of the coast, and marvel at the majestic Temple of Hephaestus in Athens.  I am dreaming of the ever interesting Gaudi architecture all over Barcelona and how I'd love to visit all of them one by one. I've been to Paris, France but do want to go back. I never had the chance to go up the Eiffel Tower or visit Mona Lisa inside the Louvre. I'd love to try backpacking around Brittany or Corsica in France, find some nice cottages to rent and just enjoy the peace and quiet and the lovely cool weather...

Parasailing in Boracay

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Parasailing in Boracay

If you've never gone Para-sailing before, Boracay is the perfect place to try it - with the breathtaking view of the island, the wonderful warm breeze and the accommodating crew to assist you, you will surely enjoy the experience. We sure did!

Excited to fly Para-sailing style for the first time!

We were leaving Boracay the next morning and were feeling adventurous enough to try either the "Helmet Diving" or "ParaSailing", and eventually decided on the latter...

Remembering Thailand (and wanting to go back!)

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Sawasdee Khrab!

I would love to go back to Thailand and go ride an elephant, or get an elegant yet affordable Phuket hotel booking and have a Thailand vacation on Patong Beach, revisit the royals in Bangkok's Grand Palace, watch the sunset at one of the vantage points on Promthep Cape, maybe catch a Muay Thai fight or a buy some Thai gold for my girlfriend.

Memories of Thailand

My first time to travel outside of the Philippines was in 1997, to celebrate our mom's birthday via a trip to Thailand with my family. I was 15 at the time, and still in high school - I had to miss a day or two of school, but it was well worth it...

Singapore Reflections

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Singapore Reflections - the river cruise

Singapore River Cruise, Clarke Quay

More Photos below...

Avillion Hotel in Port Dickson, Malaysia

If you are ever in Port Dickson in the state of Negeri Sembilan, about 90 km from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on holiday or business trip, I suggest you book yourself at Avillion Hotel Port Dickson for a wonderfully relaxing time...

Name the Souvenir Magnets Contest

Collecting Souvenir Refrigerator Magnets

I'm a confused collector. Whenever I travel, I always try to get a Souvenir Refrigerator Magnet, but I also get snow globes, keychains, T-shirts, mugs and whatever else I can afford. :p Well, so far, my ref magnet collection is the biggest one.

Below is a photo of our old refrigerator door with the Souvenir Magnets I've collected over the years. It is a mix of local and internation travel destinations. There are 32 magnets here - can you identify where all of them come from? (Not counting the black GE logo!)

Identify all 32 magnets! Click the photo to view full size.

Join the contest...

Bloggers Invade Velocity Bar Marriott Hotel Manila!

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I have not been to a party like this in a while, and so it was a welcome diversion to go to Manila on a weekday for some good music, free food and drinks, games and great company - it was Bloggers' Night at the Velocity Bar, Marriott Hotel Manila.

When my girlfriend Liz and I arrived, the party was already well under way, drinks were being served and a very appetizing cocktail spread greeted us. Our host, Michelle Garcia, Marketing Communications Manager at Marriott Hotel Manila, had prepared a few games and some freebies, and even set up a Wii console to provide for some R and R for the bloggers in attendance...

Remembering Paris

I was in Paris, France in November of 2004.

I remember the weather was nice despite it being so cold - I wasn't used to 7degC-at-noon days.  I remember the long French bread that sticks out of the paper bags of grocers, and the wonderful cobblestone roads.

I remember we stayed at probably the best aparment Paris can offer - not because it was extravagant or anything of the sort, but because it was with a very accommodating French lady lawyer called Marie. She was our gracious host during our stay in Paris.

Our Valentine weekend was really HOT!

Valentines Day 2010 brought Liz and I to the Clark Air Field in Pampanga for one really HOT weekend
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The 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.

We were up bright and early on that sunny Valentines Day morning as we made our way through the streets of Clark Air Base. We had stayed at Hotel Stotsenberg for the evening after Duty Free Shopping and dinner at a grill and wine restaurant.  We got lost several times while looking for a dinner place there, and so we read the directions to the Fiesta venue carefully.  Thankfully we did not get lost again!

Reyjr Random Travel Tip 001: Get good luggage!

These are random practical Travel Tips for people who love to travel - be it locally or internationally. 


#ReyjrTravel tip 001:

"If you're going to Europe, buy luggage with strong wheels that can survive the cobblestone roads."

The Magnificent Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte

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We arrived in the evening at one of the most beautiful and well preserved Catholic churches in the Philippines, the Paoay Church for the wedding rehearsal of my friends Eg and Ryan. They were getting married the following day.

There was a chorus of exclamations when we got out of the jeepney. The lighted facade of Paoay Church was magnificent in the darkness.

Paoay Church is the St. Augustine Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte

It was around 8 o'clock in the evening and already quite dark. We alighted our service jeepney and walked towards the Paoay Church. We were ushered in the side entrance by the caretaker...

2009 Reyjr Travel Blog Recap

One of my favorite things about this blog is that it doubles as my travel blog. The fact that it is a personal travel blog allows me to write freely about the places I visit.

My travel blog pages have also become a sort of photo album - photos with captions and stories to go with them. What a wonderful idea, don't you think?

Fishes, Beaches and Pine in 2009

Here are my 2009 Travel posts to date and the months when they were published. Some of them I visited this year, other I visited a long time ago but only got to write about it now. Here goes...

The Mayon Volcano, Legazpi City, Albay

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Back in 2004, my family and I went to Albay to see the beautiful perfect cone of Mayon Volcano.  I remember we arrived - after 14 hours on the road - late in the evening and so did not get a chance to see it that night.

I am the cutest baby Tarsier in Bohol!

Last year, we went to Bohol, a province south of Manila, about an hour by airplane.

This is my favorite photo from that trip, I have no idea why I did not post it earlier. Haha!

Tarsiers!

(click photo to see full size)

 

That's Liz as the big Tarsier and me and as the cutest baby Tarsier in Bohol. Those were fun times and...

Fish Spa at the Manila Ocean Park

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Our day at the Manila Ocean Park was well spent. Liz and I enjoyed looking at the colorful fishies and reading about their characteristics and such - and we even found Nemo!  When we got to the end, we had a nice view of the Manila Bay and an option to either take a glass bottom boat ride or have our feet eaten nibbled by fish... at a Fish Spa!

Keeping in touch with the Pizzoccheros

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Allora! Allora! Allora!

Text message exchange:

Reyjr: "Ciao tutti famiglia Pizzocchero e Buon compleanno per Papa Angelo! Tanti bacci per tutti!"

Pizzocchero: "Ciao Rey, Papa Angelo dice mille mille grazie, qui a Cascine tutto OK, spero che anche li state tutti bene, abbiamo una casa nuova ti aspettiamo per vederla."

Reyjr: "Sono molto felice di leggere il suo messagio! Amerei vedere la nuova casa. :D Tutto e buono qui anche. La manco, il mio amore a tutti."

No, I don't speak Italian (un pocississimo!), I used this website to translate: http://ets.freetranslation.com/ and I'm not expecting a machine translation to be perfect but what the heck, I still get the message across.

I'm sharing this to show that even though you are miles and miles apart and don't speak the same language, keeping in touch with friends is possible...