When we went to Japan last March, it was transitioning from winter to spring. That means, we were able to experience both snow and sakura season at the same time.
You see, even though the season was leaning toward spring, a deep-rooted fascination for snow has definitely gotten my mind fixed to experience snow by any possible means. Well, you must understand that this utmost desire to see snow is coming from someone who has spent an entire life in a tropical country and has never seen one. This Japan trip—that happens once in a blue moon—was my chance.
An obligatory snow shoefie.
Honestly, there would have been a lot of snow resorts outside Tokyo. However, 4 days is not enough to explore the city alone. So we planned to have our first snow experience somewhere in Kansai since we will be spending more time in Osaka. Also, it is a lot cheaper.
My heart had been broken terribly when the owl carrying my Hogwarts acceptance letter lost its way (must have been held up in Customs 😂). I thought I would never know my magical powers. But here I am, saved from eternal despair. For those who are still waiting for that letter, here is your salvation.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP) will get you completely swept up in magic. I was and I cannot get enough of it! The moment we started walking into the woods with the familiar music playing in the background, nostalgia washed over me and I knew we were no longer in Universal Studios.
Right after the wedding, Jan and I started working our arses off (pitiful, I know). We were not able to plan a honeymoon because the Japan trip happened. And as much as we would have loved to make Batanes our honeymoon destination, we are holding that off. You see, I won a round trip domestic flight ticket. And knowing that a one-way ticket to Batanes could cost as much as a round trip flight to a few Southeast Asian countries, I am hoping I could use that free flight for it.
Anyway, it has been a month since the wedding and we haven't really planned on anything. That, however, does not mean that a honeymoon is not bound to happen. It might come a little late but at least, it’s going to be in a beautiful country.
When we went to Singapore the second time, we made sure we would avail of attractions that are fun, interesting, and most importantly, family-friendly. Attractions in Sentosa can be pretty pricey especially when you do multiple activities in a day. But you can book tickets online that offer cheaper packages. So we purchased a Sentosa Fun Pass (Play 3) where we can choose 3 activities from a list of 20 attractions, valid for one day. It is much cheaper than purchasing attractions separately.
We decided to go for these activities:
1. Trick-eye Museum (1 credit)
2. S.E.A. Aquarium & Royal Albatross Tour (2 credits)
Honestly, if I had it my way, I would ditch the Royal Albatross Tour. It's only a 15-minute tour on a classic sailboat. There's nothing much to see in there. But since it is in combo with the S.E.A. Aquarium, we had no choice.
Jan and I are planning to apply for a South Korea visa this year, anticipating a 20% rejection rate.
Funny thing is, South Korea isn't really on top of our travel list. And I think that's because our souls have not been sucked into this Korean fandom abyss. Thank heavens!
Kpop, Kdrama, nor Korean food isn't our cup of tea. But we will still fly there for the love of travel. And as much as we want to tick New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, or Europe off our list first, Korea is what our broke asses can afford for now.
We have a lot of catching up to do. I hate not writing about the shiznit happening in my life because that's what this blog is supposedly for. But this is what happens when you have a counterproductive after-work hobby. I get mentally drained every time I get off work that I wouldn't have enough strength to do anything else but ogle over videos of cats being adorable and jerks.
But also, I just came home from my best vacation yet. Jan and I couldn't get over it that we still talk about our escapade and eat ramen at local shops even if it pales in comparison to the real ones. Yes, a few days ago, we were in Japan.
When I told the universe I'm ready for the great stuff, awesomeness started pouring in. I just hope I don't jinx this, but it does feel like the entire universe is working in my favor.
Don't get it wrong though. My life is not exactly all rainbows and butterflies as I would have loved to imagine. Shit happens. But you can only either sulk about that or move on and give shit the middle finger it deserves. And I chose to do the latter.
Anyway, I revisited my blog today and realized I only have one post for November (big deal haha), when in fact, I got tons of these "I am sooooo blogging this" moments. But Instagram took the light away.
I'm blogging now because the incoming days are going to be blog-worthy (assuming I can give time to write about it). So before I get overwhelmed and end up not writing about anything at all, I might as well do a blatant gloating because that's what bloggers are supposed to do.
Here's what I've been up to lately:
1. Went to the City of Smiles
I was invited to the launching of the new Nokia 6.1 Plus and 5.1 plus. Along with other tech bloggers, Josef of Davao Geek Hub and Robert of DugomPinoy, we flew to Bacolod City just in time for the Masskara Festival month. Work and leisure in one? Why not?
There was a reason why I was always broke the past few months. It was only last April when I finally made up my mind to go with Jan, bought the tickets in May, and flew a month after. So that's almost three months of fighting the urge to buy milk tea, refusing fast foods, declining Friday night invitations, and pretending Shopee does not exist.
This is the fourth time Jan and I went out of the country, second time in Singapore, and the first time we did it with the family.
A lot of things happened and I wouldn't really want to put everything in detail because that's going to take forever. But here are some snaps during our trip. I may have to create separate posts for the Trick Eye Museum, S.E.A. Aquarium, and Flower Dome, but given my pseudo-busy schedule, we all know that's not happening any time soon. So for now, I hope you enjoy looking at these photos.
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