July 12, 2017

Family Day at Enchanted Kingdom

Two months ago my husband mentioned to me that they would be having a family day in Enchanted Kingdom so he asked me if I was interested. I just said yes because wala pa naman kami lakad sa July. There was no definite date for the event, sabi lang July so sa tagal, we already forgot about it. 


One week before the event, my husband received an email about Family Day and he was asking me kung nakapagregister daw ba siya dun. “Ako pa talaga ang tinanung” hehehe! Good thing my husband did not forget to register us. 


Few days before the event we received our passes. I was surprised when I saw the envelope, we have Park Plus Agila Ride Ticket, 2 Skills Game Passes, and P300 worth of Wizard Money (per person). I was expecting a Park Only ticket pero may pocket money pa. And because my husband was very quick in replying to the email, we got one of the 20 Free Car Passes too. Yey! For free parking.

Enchanted Kingdom Rates 

Park Only P700 
Park Plus Agila Ride P900 

To save money, buy your ticket at KLOOK
Read: How I Purchased my Tickets at Klook

Klook.com

Since high school, I’ve been to Enchanted Kingdom for the nth time already so when I had my own family, I make sure to visit this theme park with my son. It’s been years since the last time we visited EK so my son was a little bit excited when I told him that we will go back to the Enchanted Kingdom. #EKcited siya.

Read: Enchanted Kingdom 2011
Enchanted Kingdom 2013 

Fast forward to Family Day, we were there as early as 9:40AM because there was Magicalympics at 10AM. It was funny because prior to our trip, my husband said, “he would not ride Jungle Log Jam” but their first task is “Ride Jungle Log Jam”. hehehe! They needed to finish 5 Tasks and fortunately, their team won (1st Runner Up) so we had extra P200 Wizard Money. 


We ate lunch before starting our tour in Enchanted Kingdom. It was scorching hot but we had no choice but to explore because my son was itching to ride different rides. Watch the video here

Since there were no long lines at the Swan Lake, we went here first. It was not a good decision because my legs were aching kakapedal. Nakakapagod na ride ito pero lagi naman kami pumipila. Hehehe! 


We went back to Bump N’ Splash. We went here when my husband was busy doing their task at Anchor’s Away but the staff told me that we needed to wait for other people. I said, “Dalawa na kami” but she insisted na maghintay pa daw. 

So my son and I went back to Anchor’s Away. I don’t understand why we need to wait for other people pa, it is just a waste of time. I remember our trip to Legoland Malaysia, when we fell in line, the staff didn’t wait anymore and we rode different rides na kami lang ang sakay (as in kami lang). Ganun din naman, nagbasaan kaming dalawa ng anak ko. Kakadisappoint talaga.  

Anyway, I brought a raincoat so my son won’t get wet in Bump N’ Splash and Rio Grande Rapids. During the past visits, basang sisiw kami. We also rode Boulderville Express, trip lang. 

Since we’ve been to EK several times already, we decided to try the paid activities using our Wizard Money. So for the very first time, we went to 7D Interactive Motion Theater “Werewolves”. Entrance Fee is P100 per person. 

We enjoyed this one because it is not just a ride but you will play a game where you need to kill werewolves and you will see the top players too. At that moment, my husband was the “Best Player of the Day”, you can see the stats when you go out. I bought a souvenir picture for P250.

Then we went to Agila Theater, for your information this is the only flying theater in the Philippines. The fee is P500 per person but it is already included in our Park Plus Agila Ride ticket so no additional payment. 


You have to put your stuff in the locker, it is free for the first hour. No photos and videos are allowed so I have no pictures inside. But it is really big, I was scared at first because nasa third floor kami napunta na upuan. You know, I’m scared of heights but I was glad that it was not a scary ride. 

My husband liked this, parang human drone lang and you will tour the popular tourist spots in the Philippines. The fee is a little bit expensive so if you want to experience this, it is better to avail the Park Plus Agila Ride Ticket. 


The next stop is Ghostbusters Adventure, I was expecting that this would be a ride and we would kill ghosts but I was wrong, Horror House pala ito. Waah! It was too late to back out because my husband paid the tickets na. The entrance fee is P100 per person. It was scary, shocking, and fun at the same time. And because of this, nagkanightmare ang anak ko and he told us not to go there anymore. 


We went to Rio Grande Rapids, good thing I wore raincoat or else, basa-basang ako. Of all places talaga, dun pa talaga ko naupo sa mababasa. We also tried playing games using the game passes but you need to pay pa rin pala so we only tried Ring Toss. Buy 1 Get 1, P50 per game. 


Then we proceeded to Fun Kart, I was surprised to see the rates but I already promised my son that he will ride this so pikit mata na lang.

Fun Kart Rental Fees

One seater P380 for 10 minutes 
Two-seater P470 for 10 minutes 
Student rate P250 for 6 minutes (single seater only) - Valid ID is needed 

You need to sign the waiver before paying the fee. My husband was complaining na nakaslow-mo daw video ko. I told him, hindi nakaslow-mo yan, mabagal lang talaga kayo. hehehe! 


After that, we went to Rialto. I just noticed that there are some attractions that require you to pose for pictures, we experienced this in 7D, Agila and Rialto. Few years ago, wala nito sa Rialto. Anyway, we enjoyed the Ice Age Movie of Rialto, may bagong pakulo, may part na nagulat kami kasi parang may sumipa sa back namin. Hehehe! 


Lastly, we rode Bump Car, Up, Up and Away, Bumbling Boulders and Bouncing Boulder. While waiting at the Bouncing Boulder, it started to rain so we decided to go home na. Lagi na lang umuulan pag nasa EK kami. 

We had fun because it was a different experience compared to our past visits I’m thankful for the FREE Wizard money because we could try some paid attractions. I'm glad that EK is adding more attractions so people have reasons to go back. 

7D Interactive Motion Theater “Werewolves” P100
Agila Theater P500
Ghostbuster Adventure P100
Fun Kart P470

I just hope next time, aside from the map they will also include a flyer about the schedule of their shows or if there is a mascot appearance. Sa dami beses ko na napunta parang once lang ko nakapanood ng show in front of Rialto. 

July 07, 2017

Sheraton Hanoi Hotel in Vietnam

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and just recently my husband went to Hanoi Vietnam. It took him more or less 8 hours to reach Vietnam from the Philippines including the short layover in Bangkok Thailand.

Manila Philippines to Bangkok Thailand 
Bangkok Thailand to Hanoi Vietnam 

When my husband went to Ho Chi Minh Vietnam last March he did not have any problem with Immigration and Customs but his experience in Hanoi was not okay. 

Read: Glimpse of Ho Chi Minh Vietnam

Noibai Airport 

Since this was a business trip, he brought some product samples for his presentation and training. It is the same product samples that he always brings whenever he travels in Southeast Asia but only in Hanoi Vietnam that they questioned it. They were asking for some papers regarding the samples. 

He was advised to wait for their officer and he stayed in the room for several minutes waiting for their decision. He messaged me about his situation and I immediately remembered the articles and forums that I’ve read before. Bribery or tip is a common issue in Hanoi Airport, you can read more about it here. So I informed my husband about this. Vietnam is part of the 5 most corrupt countries in Asia, check the article here

Voila, the airport staff advised him that he could bring his luggage if he needed to pay USD100. But my husband told them that he had no money. He was firm that he would not pay anything. He also informed his Vietnamese colleague about his situation. 

One airport staff came and he was advised to close his luggage and go out of the room. After several minutes, they called my husband and informed him that he could get his luggage and go. They let him go without paying anything. He stayed at the airport, for more or less 2 hours. 

It was a really loooong and stressful day for him so he was really tired when he reached the hotel. Lesson learned, if ever he goes back, he will just ship all the stuff that he needs for work.

Sheraton Hanoi Hotel 


My husband stayed in Sheraton Hanoi Hotel which is about 25km away from the airport and a few minutes' ride to the city center. Just like other Sheraton hotels, it has a garden that gives a pleasant experience in the midst of the city center. The hotel is near the West Lake and Red River so you can also see this from your room. 

Read: Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel in Thailand
Sheraton Towers Singapore 



Checking the photos, the hotel shows signs that it is old already. When it comes to the size of the room, it is similar to Sheraton Towers Singapore. It has a bathtub too. 



The room package includes a buffet breakfast. 





They have a swimming pool too. 




According to my husband, they also offer free laundry of 3 pcs of clothes but he was not able to avail of this since he only stayed there for two nights so no need for laundry service. He was not sure if it was every day or one time only. 

If you are a tourist, the hotel has a nice location because most of the tourist spots are just near. You can visit Bat Thrang Ceramic Village, Flower Market, Hanoi Old Quarter, Hanoi Opera House, Hoan Kiem Lake, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, Temple of Literature, and West Lake

But unfortunately, my husband has no time to check the tourist spots. After a few days, he flew to Bangkok Thailand, and stayed at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel, I already blogged about this hotel and the experience was still the same, check it here

Sheraton Hanoi Hotel
K5 Nghi Tam, 
11 Xuan Dieu Road Tay Ho District 
Hanoi Vietnam

July 06, 2017

Glimpse of Club Manila Lounge at NAIA 1

My husband went to Vietnam and Thailand last week so he took Thai Airways for this business trip. He is not a frequent flyer of this airline so he has no free lounge access in NAIA 1. Thank God for his credit card, he can stay in Miascor Lounge for FREE. 


He needs to take advantage of the free lounge access because Citibank does not waive the annual fee for this specific card. They waive our other cards except for this one kasi marami na daw siya benefits. We just used our points to pay for the annual fee but we’re still thinking if we will continue this card next year. 

Read: Miascor Lounge at NAIA 1  


Anyway, when he went to Miascor Lounge, the staff informed him that they could no longer accommodate him, puno na daw kasi. So he was transferred to Club Manila Lounge. Yey! 



The Miascor Lounge is bigger than Club Manila Lounge but it was not crowded. My husband likes the service here, according to him “maasikaso” daw ang staff. After registering, the staff ushered him up to his seat. They will be the ones, who will find available seats for you. Base on our experience sa Miascor, bahala ka maghanap ng upuan mo, which is common naman sa ibang lounges. 



When it comes to food and drinks, it is the same as other lounges. Limited selection but it is enough to fill your hungry tummy. Free wifi too.

Read: 5 Ways to Get into Airport Lounge

July 05, 2017

Salmon + Hollandaise Sauce

It is no secret here that I like salmon fish so even it is expensive, I still buy and cook salmon at home. It is still cheaper compared to eating this meal in the restaurant. So when we went to Norway, I really took advantage of my chance to eat Norwegian Salmon. Iba pa rin ang lasa ng Salmon sa Norway, fresh pa kasi. Hehehe! Salmon is so affordable too so it is just an ordinary dish there.

My mom was still in the Philippines when we arrived in Norway. She knew that I like salmon so she just informed my stepdad to cook salmon so we ate salmon on our second day. I ate salmon during our Fellowship in Norway and if ever I will visit our relatives. I also requested salmon when we celebrated 17th of May.

They buy whole salmon (about 2-3kls) so they always baked salmon in the oven kasi malaki siya, unlike here na nakaslice lang ang afford ko. They cooked this more or less 2 hours in the oven.


And because I missed salmon, I cooked this last weekend with hollandaise sauce. It is my favorite sauce for salmon so I buy instant mixes before going back to the Philippines. I know I can cook hollandaise sauce from scratch and I tried that before but it takes so much time and problemahin ko pa yung egg white na matitira.


So instant mix is heaven sent. Toro is a Norwegian brand that produces sauces, soups, and many more. It is a popular brand so pwede na rin pampasalubong aside from Freia.

I’m lazy to cook hollandaise sauce from scratch so whenever I cooked salmon, I just pair it with lemon butter sauce to make my life easier. But hollandaise sauce is much better because it is creamy. Actually, my son loves this too, sinasabaw sa rice akala mo gravy. Hehehe! The taste is good pero mas masarap yung Hollandaise sauce sa IKEA.


Anyway, when I was cooking salmon, I checked the direction of the sauce and I forgot that the direction is in the Norwegian language. I messaged my mom to translate it for me but because of the time difference, she was not able to reply immediately. Eh gutom na ko, so I searched na lang and I found this.

Directions:

In a saucepan, melt 5 tbsp butter. Whisk in the mix and add 3 oz of water and 3 oz milk, continue stirring over medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste.


Checking the ingredients, parang iba yung dami niya sa nakalagay sa instant mix but I just followed it. We’re very satisfied with our salmon, hollandaise sauce, and French beans meal.

Update: I used Google translate and here is the direction

1. Melt 75g margarine (1/3 cup) or butter in a saucepan and stir in the contents of the bag.
2. Add 2dl (200ml)of water and 0.5dl (50ml) of milk. Bring to the boil while stirring, use a whisk. Let the sauce cook for a minute. Stir occasionally.

Options: Replace butter with 3 tsp lemon juice and a little salt. Whisk one egg yolk after boiling.
Replace milk with cream

Read: Oven-Baked Salmon
Fried Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce

For those who want to make hollandaise sauce from scratch, here is the recipe that I used before. I can't remember where I got this recipe, it was written in my recipe notebook for more than a decade already.

Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

1/2 cup butter
3 large egg yolks
1 tbsp + 1 tsp of lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
Dash of cayenne or hot pepper sauce
2 tbsp hot water
Finely chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Heat butter in a heavy saucepan until hot and foamy, but not browned. In a small bowl, whisk or beat egg yolks with lemon juice, salt, and pepper or hot sauce. Gradually beat in the butter and beat over very low heat until the mixture is slightly thickened. Serve immediately or let stand over warm water for up to 30 minutes.

July 04, 2017

Teksdalsvatnet Norway

On our day 16 in Norway, my mom decided to visit Teksdalsvatnet in Bjugn Kommune. This is the third time that we went to Bjugn, the first time was when we went to Røros and the second time was when we visited Vallersund Farm and hiked to Angel of Peace.  At that moment, kami na lang ni Ethan because hubby was back in the Philippines.

Read: Angel of Peace in Vallersund
Vallersund Farm 


Bjugn is a coastal municipality so there are so many places that we can visit like the lake, sheltered coves, mountains, beach and many more. We’ve been to farm and mountains before so for a change, we went to Teksdalsvatnet or Lake in Teksdal.

Vatnet = Lake


The weather was still cold but we enjoyed the cold weather of Norway. Travel time is more or less 30 minutes since there is no traffic.You can already see the lake from the parking area. There are tables and benches so you can have your own picnic.


My mom said, we can also do fishing here but we just need to pay a fee. We did not try that anymore since we already experience fishing. But if you just want to visit the lake, you can stay here for FREE.

Read: Fishing Adventure in Norway



The lake is so peaceful and you can really relax and unwind. We just sat beside the lake and appreciate the beauty of the nature. My son enjoyed creating ripple by throwing stones in the lake. How I wish, we have this place in the Philippines, pangmuni-muni. Hehehe! We visited Lake Pandin in Laguna but there is a fee for that.

Read: Lake Pandin and Lake Yambo


Watch the video here.


After an hour, we went for a walk, you can walk around the lake but since we have a kid in tow, we did not finish it. We went home because it was dinner time already.

July 03, 2017

Exploring The Mind Museum

My husband got two Mind Museum All Day Pass tickets after attending the Manila Mini Maker Faire. My son wanted to use the ticket immediately, so I asked my husband if we could celebrate Father’s Day at Mind Museu,m and he agreed. My husband was teasing my son, “Happy Child’s Day” ba ngayon? Hehehe! 


Our initial plan was to go to the museum before the opening so we could maximize the all-day pass ticket, but I changed my mind because I wanted to eat at Texas Roadhouse, so we had an early lunch before we went to the museum.


Since we only have two all-day pass tickets, we purchased another ticket, and we’re contemplating kung All Day Pass ba o regular ticket kasi namamahalan ko sa P75,0, but what if nabitin yung anak ko sa 3 hours. After a few minutes, the staff offered the promo “All Day Pass Ticket + Ayala Museum for P600”. Yey! Tipid kami ng P150. 

After paying, the staff gave us 1 FREE Ayala Museum ticket, 3 maps, and bracelets. Wow, they improved na, 3 years ago kasi I was looking for a map and wala daw sila. Map is really important so guests can plan their trip. 

We went to the Mind Museum 3 years ago, so you could read my first post here and watch the video here. Since this was our second visit, I will just share the improvements, changes, and new experiences. I was looking for the fossil finding, fossils, and hugging vest activities, but they are not available na. Napalitan na siya. 

Anyway, since we are late, we missed the Wild Conversations at 10:30 AM. The Mind Museum has 5 Main Galleries, which is Atom, Life, Earth, Technology, and Universe. There is also an outdoor Science in the Park, which is beside the Jollibee. 

You can also watch 3D Films and Planetarium shows. So if you are buying a regular ticket, take note of the schedule of the shows so you won’t miss them. 


Our favorite gallery is the Universe, we spent most of our time here because there are three shows that we watched here, “Life: A Cosmic Story”, “Origins of Life” and “Awesome Astronomy”. While waiting for the show, my son enjoyed playing with this magnetic solar system. 


There are also Mind Movers at the Atom Gallery, where we watched different Science Demos. This is fun and you can also participate in their demo. We watched 3 demos during our last visit. You can check the video here


We also watched a show at the Earth Gallery, we only watched the “Birth Place” because we missed the “Ang Simula” shows, as in few minutes late kami. Nakalimutan ko, sayang! I’m not sure if the show is the same since we also watched “Ang Simula” during our first visit. 


Our favorite in Atom Gallery is the Static Ball, I still remember my first visit, ayaw tumayo ng buhok ko sa I was glad na tumayo na siya. Hehehe! Good thing that there is already a staff member who operates this exhibit. 

 Aside from the main galleries, there are new exhibits that we can explore such as Color Play, Cave of Tiny Secrets, Sensory Earth, Astronauts Selfie, Earthrise, Living in Space, Encounter with the Solar System and Shape EmporiumThese were not available during our first visit. My son enjoyed the piano stairs. 




There is “The Teenage Brain Exhibit” on the second floor, which we did not visit anymore because I’m not sure if my son will like it. While waiting for the 5PM show, we had snacks at Jollibee and checked the playground outside. We missed this park during our first visit kasi hindi namin alam na meron. 


Then we watched the Awesome Astronomy at 5PM, I thought we were going to watch a video, but I was wrong. Peder Decierdo discussed Astronomy, and I learned about the sun, moon, and star,s so now when I look up at the sky, I appreciate it more. 


Before, they had a souvenir store, as in malaki siya, we bought a souvenir key chain pa nga, but now closed na yung store. They just have a small kiosk before the exit door. After 6 hours, our visit is over. Then we walked fast to the parking lot so we won’t be charged for another hour. We all know that parking in BGC is so expensive; we paid P250 for 6 hours. Waah! How about you? Have you visited the Mind Museum?

The Mind Museum 

JY Campos Park 3rd Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, 
Taguig CIty, Metro Manila 

Operations Schedule 

Tuesday to Sunday (Closed Monday)

 9AM -12NN | 12NN - 3PM | 3PM - 6PM  

Mind Museum Ticket Prices

P625 adult 
P475 Child/Private School Student 
P190 Public School Student (valid ID) 
P190 teacher (valid ID) 
P750 All Day Pass Museum (No 3-hour limit)
P2500 1 Year Unlimited Science Pass

Exploring Mind Museum Video
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