One Greenbelt Hotel by Astoria (Makati City)

Blue green and black hues. Padded walls. Metal textures. Astoria hotels never fail my expectations when it comes to their interiors. They are very well thought- very chic and very modern. 

My family has been a member of Astoria for quite some time now. They send us some hotel vouchers from time to time for us to avail. Two weekends ago, we checked-in in their One Greenbelt Hotel branch in Makati for a short staycation which coincidentally coincided with a party I attended at Fairmont Hotel.

We were given two studio units which is a connecting room. The rooms were very simple with brown hues, its equipped with a kitchenette, cable tv, and hot&cold water. Its perfect for vacationers who want to stay right at the heart of Makati. In fact, its only a minute walk away from Greenbelt (Duh, hence the name hehe). 

The only thing I did not like about our room is that we had no windows. With lights off, it seemed like it was always night time (good for those who wants to sleep really loooooooong) but do not fret as we had a very comfortable stay in Astoria. Looking forward for our next staycation this coming September! 

Pinto Art Museum (Antipolo City)

The "Earth" without "art" is just "eh"

I know most of you have visited this museum, but allow me to jump into the bandwagon even if I am a little too late hehehe. I visited the museum when it was raining hard so I was not able to enjoy the sun lounges around the vicinity. It would have been a perfect area to exchange stories with your friends. No need to worry where to eat as Bizu caters the cafes found here.

 Here are some photos I was able to take during my little trip up north.

My most favorite piece of art in the exhibit :) It reminds me of movies about robots or something. I want this piece in my future home.

Don't you think the art found here are very modern? I didn't want to post everything to still entice you to visit the museum yourselves.

Entrance Fee

P100 for students

P180 for non-students

Visit their Facebook page here.

#Cambodiaries : Siem Reap

Finally, we are down to the most awaited 'Siem Reap,' the last installment of our Vietnam-Cambodia trip 2015.

Our hotel, Secrets Pavillion Urban Botique Hotel, was our favorite among the hotels that we have stayed in. It was perfect, GREAT LOCATION (near the Pubstreet/Night Market), GREAT AESTHETICS (very clean, good beds, nice restrooms), GREAT BREAKFAST and above all GREAT SERVICE.

*Photos from Agoda.com

Usually hotel checkouts are at 12nn but since our flight was not until 11pm, the staff willingly allowed us to keep our rooms 'til 8pm. Other hotels would have charged us with another night. They also accommodated to our needs of six extra towels without asking what for, a packed breakfast, an extra serving of yogurt (because it was so good, we wanted more), and a last minute need of a transfer to the airport.

Our breakfast complete with fruit platter, yogurt with oats and banana or bread with egg cooked the way you like it, french toast, coffee or tea, and orange juice.

We visited the Phnom Kulen Mountains first, in here you visit three attractions:  The Reclining Buddha, the waterfall, and the 1000 Lingas.

The waterfall was freezing cooooooold.

1000 Lingas is a river with carved stone bed. I wonder how they were able to do it before?

Our lunch on a restaurant near Beng Melea. I ordered The spicy pork ribs which was really delightful (order this here!) and the stir-fried beef (on the left) was .... weird. The taste of the ginger was too strong, I could not appreciate the dish.

**all restaurants in Siem Reap do not serve service water. I heard that their water are outsourced since Siem Reap was a big swamp before hence the water is not potable. 

Beng Melea was our favorite temple in Siem Reap. Its the only temple that is 100% not restored thus you're going to need to toughen yourself up  in climbing this temple.  Its such a beautiful mess, I hope that the government keeps it that way. 

I have read alot of blogs trying the infamous Siem Reap's Cambodian Bbq, of course, tourists like us wanted to try it. The place was jam-packed during dinner time and we had to wait in line for more than an hour to get a seat. The platter comes with seven kinds of meat: Chicken, Pork, Beef, Squid, Fish, Shark and Crocodile. I enjoyed the shark and crocodile the most- the shark tasted like a fatty fish so it was flavorful and the crocodile tasted like a better version of your chicken. Along with the meat is our shabu-shabu with vegetables, noodles, and unli-rice. The waiters were also very prompt in giving us refills of our shabu-shabu throughout the dinner. I ordered a Cosmopolitan along my meal- and it was the worst one i've tasted.

Mr. Sun hid himself in the clouds so we were not able to see the world famous Angkor Wat sunrise. Its so sad that we weren't able to get the full Angkor Wat experience.

Our Next favorite temple after Beng Melea was Bayon a.k.a. "The Smiling Temple." 

Did you spot all the smiling faces on our photos? hehehe

Angkor Thom

Ta Prohm Temple was where Tomb Raider was shot.  There were a lot of entrances and exits that we were literally lost in its beauty. Unfortunately, its being restored now so we can not appreciate its beauty that much. But I heard that the best time to go to Ta Prohm is during sunrise ;)

Our last meal at Siem Reap- Burger Gourmand. The restaurant was already closed in the afternoon but the owners willingly opened their doors for us (perks of being 8 in the group). We all got a set meal for $7.25 which included your choice of burger with potato wedges and side salad, a softdrink, and a dessert. I ordered the bleu cheese pork burger and Nutella waffles. The buns were chewy and the patty was cooked medium rare. I loved the waffles too since it was crunchy on the outside but still chewy.

So thats it. Our eight months waiting was over in just a week. Time truly flies when one is having fun. I am definitely excited for our future trips together!

**For everyone planning to visit Siem Reap, I strongly suggest that you just take a one-day Angkor pass- after visiting several temples, the temples will all seem alike. Or if you have time and money to spare, get a three day or a week pass and visit a few temples a day.

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I hope that through this travel journal, we got you enticed to do your own Vietnam-Cambodia trip soon. Feel free to email me for questions or if you want me to help you make your very own itinerary. :)

#Vietnamazing : Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

*Our trip was divided into three legs: Ho Chi Minh, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap.

The first leg of our journey was a visit to the beautiful city of Saigon. We arrived at midnight so there wasn't much to see yet. Our first impression of Saigon was that it was clean (at least cleaner than Manila), we did not see much trash nor were there any beggars sleeping along the roads. After days of touring the city, our impression did not waver. In fact, we even loved the city even more with its luscious gardens found in almost every block and roads lined with tall trees that made walking in the pedestrian lanes much more tolerable (not that we have a choice hehe no tuktuks here, its either you walk or you ride the taxi). However the the roads were filled with countless motorcycles (I think ratio of motorcycle to car is 10:1), which made crossing the street an adventure itself.

We stayed at The Townhouse 50 in District 1. Just upon entering, the hotel will give you 'chill vibes' with its very quirky interiors and very friendly staff like Mr. Johnny.

Disclaimer: Photo from Agoda.com

The rooms were very clean, the mattresses were thick and soft enough not to give me back aches, the air conditioning was cool, and the bathrooms were very spacious. Each room in the hotel looks different and have different amenities. So make sure to let them know which ones you need. 

Our breakfast was a choice of bread with peanut butter/jam/egg or instant noodles along with a mini buffet of salad, fruits, siopao, sausage, and our favorite spring rolls. 

My friends thought that the scrambled egg is too bland until we realized (upon seeing the foreigners) that after all we did not know how to eat it, apparently the salad bar was meant as not salad only but as condiments for the sandwich.

On our first day, we took a two-hour bus ride to the Mekong Delta River, a river that produces a very fertile soil that makes agriculture prosper in Vietnam. There are several tours being offered. We took the My Tho/Ben Tre tour which was the more popular option among tourists as it shows you a glimpse of how the Vietnamese live and work.

 I thought that the traditional cone shaped hats were available during the ride but you need to buy them pala :(

I had no high expectations with our lunch since it was only included in the tour. But boy, I did eat a lot! The food was better than expected and probably one of the best Vietnamese tom yum-like soup I had tasted.

 We initially ate the fried fish like our usual fried tilapia but the waitress came up to us and offered to prepare the fish which was actually the meat for the fish roll.

 Eat all you want coconut candies!

The tour consists of fruit tasting (mango, langka, banana), coconut candy making, and horse ride which are widely available here in the Philippines... Except for the boat ride along the mangroves and the free lunch, I will not recommend this tour to Asians like us unless you have a day to spare.

We had our dinner in Pho 2000 where the former President Bill Clinton dined during his state visit. I realized how appreciative he was for ordering a second bowl because this is the worse pho I ever tasted! EVER! Even the wet wipes and ice for water were for a fee! And why don't I have photos of the food? Because we dined in the dark!! Now you would probably know how disappointed I am with Pho 2000. So do yourself a favor and eat somewhere else. 

Next day, we had a very informative Cu Chi Tunnel tour. This is where the Vietnamese defeated the Americans during the war. Its amazing how bamboo sticks are stronger than bombs.

Some of the traps they made and used during the war

Towards the end of the tour, they'll allow you to duck walk along the tunnels which were narrow enough to prohibit the bigger American soldiers to fit through. (The tunnels we passed in were made to be wider and higher than originally made for the benefit of the tourists.)

This place has got me thinking if we, Filipinos, devised strategies like the Vietnamese did, will we be able to win against the Spaniards, the Americans, and the Japanese? How many lives could we have saved from the cruelty of these colonizations?... For history junks, I would definitely recommend this tour.

Tam Hao Hand Pull Noodles.

I ordered the roast duck in dry noodles (which was my favorite, the sweet sauce in the noodles complemented the salty duck) and spicy beef pho (which had the right kick of spiciness that made every spoon of soup heaven-sent).

 L'usine Cafe.

The meals were quite expensive but we couldn't pass our stay without trying this quaint cafe that serves one of the best chocolate cakes. The cafe was well lit and was not too busy- we all imagined ourselves doing our review sessions here.

We originally wanted to do the city tour after the Cu Chi Tunnels however, heavy rain poured so we opted to do it the following morning. We made use of google maps to get from one place to another and everything was near each other so its wasn't much of a hassle.

Tao Dan Park

War Remnants Museum

 

Notre Dame Cathedral.  

Did you know that all materials used to construct this Church came from France?

Saigon Post Office

And.. for our last lunch in Vietnam, Carl's Jr. When my eyes laid upon this establishment, all childhood memories in this joint came back and I had to persuade everyone to eat here.

I recommend for one to do the city tour first to get you acquainted with the city, a half day walking tour made us hurry a lot but walking allowed us to appreciate Vietnam a little more... I'm certainly hoping that I can go back to Vietnam really really soon. Two and a half days in Vietnam does not suffice. Vietnam is truly #VietnAMAZING.