May 14, 2017

Vallersund Gård Norway

Since it was not raining yet, my mom decided to go straight to Vallersund Gård after doing our groceries. Vallersund Gård or Vallersund Farm is situated in Bjugn Kommune. It is a small Camphill village that takes care of the people who have special needs. 


There is a Fram-school here where young adults with learning disabilities can learn new skills. They teach gardening, organic farming, and other sheltered workshops that will help and develop people with special needs.



Sayang lang because it is not yet summer time so hindi pa namin nakita na may mga tanim yung farm. This place has its own store where they sell organic and environment-friendly products and their own products from their workshops. They offer almost all the basic things that people need in their everyday life so they do not need to go to the groceries. Unfortunately, we haven’t visited the shops during our trip.




Vallersund Gård is part of the national protection plan for historical buildings and is considered an Eco-village because 


1. They have a large windmill that covers their energy needs. 



2. They use a heat pump which extracts energy from the sea to warm the houses. 


3. They have a biological purifying plant that treats wastewater before it goes back to the sea. 

This is the sea lion made by artist Astrid Dahisveen. 


You can also see the “Angel of Peace” on top of the small mountain of Vallersund,

Read: Angel of Peace in Vallersund Norway

May 13, 2017

Bjugn Norway

On our day 10 in Norway, my mom was on leave and she planned to visit the Vallersund Gård in Bjugn. But the day before our trip, the weather forecast is “rainy” so she was contemplating whether to go or not. After our breakfast, she decided to pursue our trip in Bjugn and advised us to bring our overall. 

We’ve seen Bjugn before when we went to Vanvikan Ferry Port, puting-puti pa ang mga daan sa snow. Check the video here. But after 4 days wala ng snow. 

This is Bjugn Kommune, it is situated on the fosen peninsula. According to Wikipedia, fosen is a traditional district in Trondelag, each district is dominated by coastal cliffs, forested valleys, mountains and lakes. 


The municipalities are Osen, Roan, Bjugn, Rissa, Agdenes, Snillfjord, Hitra, Hemme, Frøya, Åfjord and Ørland. Bjugn is also surrounded by fjord, Bjugnfjorden, and Stjørnfjord, I’ve seen the stunning view of their fjord, during one of our hikes. Check the video here


In Bjugn, there is an indoor multi-use ice rink which is called Fosenhallen. This was used to host the World Junior Speed Skating Championships in the year 2014. There are 6 churches within Bjugn Kommune, so far I’ve only seen one, kita siya sa daan





First time ko makakita ng bus nila dito. :)

Anyway, we went to Europris and Kiwi store to buy some food and pasalubong for my in-laws. Well, sad to say, my husband has only two weeks of vacation leave so he cannot stay long.


Slice your own bread

My mom was looking for shrimp for our dinner and I was surprised na cooked shrimp na pala dito, sa boat pa lang daw niluluto na yung mga shrimp. 



And they served it cold, as in malamig na shrimp, lobster, smoked salmon with bread and mayonnaise for our dinner.

May 11, 2017

Trip to Røros Norway

Røros is one of the popular tourist spots in Norway, you can reach this via car, train, bus, and plane depending on your location. It took us more than 6 hours just to reach Røros. We travel by road, sea and railroad.

Car - Ørland to Vanvikan 
Boat - Vanvikan to Trondheim 
Train - Trondheim to Røros 


My mom lives in Ørland Kommune so going to other places is not that easy because you always have to consider the schedule of the ferry boat. As I mentioned in my previous post, Ørland is almost surrounded by water such as Norwegian sea, Trondheimsfjord and Stjørnfjord so most of the time people need to travel by boat to reach other places. It is either a passenger boat or RoRo. I guess, it is like living in Visayas, if you want to go to other provinces you need to ride boat or airplane.


There are different seaports within the area so you just need to check their schedule. When we went to Røros last Holy Week, we left as early as 6AM so we can catch the 8AM ferry boat in Vanvikan port. It is more than one hour drive from the house but we did not notice it because of the beautiful scenery.

Watch the video here.

We can ride the ferry boat in Ørland too but just to be safe, we went to Vanvikan para hindi kami magahol sa oras. From Vanvikan port, we ride the ferry boat to Trondheim, travel time is less than 30 minutes.

Ørland to Trondheim is 1 hour ride
Vanvikan to Trondheim is 25 minutes




From the port, we walked to the Trondheim train station. It is a long walk especially if you have luggage with you. We waited at the lobby then at 9:20AM we went to the boarding station for our 9:45AM train ride.



We rode trains in other countries but this is our first train ride in Europe so I’m a little bit excited. My mom only bought the standard ticket so we don't have a table at the middle. If you want coffee, there is a small coffee vending machine inside the train.



Travel time from Trondheim to Røros is 2 hours and 30 minutes. The travel time is so long but I enjoyed the ride because of the stunning view, ang ganda talaga, pangpost card. Habang tumatagal, paputi ng paputi ang daanan.

Watch the video here.

 Finally, we reached Røros train station. From here, we just walked to our holiday apartment.


Read: Ålbyggården in Røros Norway 

The following day, we took the 4:30PM train ride. At Trondheim seaport, we rode the ferry boat going to Ørland, the travel time is one hour. Then my stepdad and sister picked us up at the port.

Train - Røros to Trondheim 
Boat - Trondheim to Ørland 
Car - Ørland to home

May 10, 2017

The Saujana Hotel and Resort in Malaysia

When we first visited Kuala Lumpur, we stayed in Sky Hotel Bukit Bintang because we wanted to see Petronas Twin Towers. The hotel is not really near the twin towers but we still manage to visit it by walking. It is located in the heart of the city and very accessible to public transportation.


But whenever my husband goes to KL for a business trip, he always stays at Saujana Hotel and Resort because this is near to his office. This hotel is far from the city center, it is more or less 30km away from the city center and the twin towers. Travel from Kuala Lumpur International Airport is more or less 1 hour depending on the traffic.



Saujana Hotel and Resort is a five-star resort style hotel that is located in a tropical forest with lakeside view. Forest talaga because my husband always sees squirrels, monkeys and monitor lizards within the resort.

Malay “sejauh di sana” = “as far as the eye can see” 




It does not have a high rise building but they have 250 rooms on their four storey building. Sa laki ng resort, they also have two adjoining 18-hole championship golf courses.




My husband went back to Kuala Lumpur last week and as usual, his company booked a room in Saujana Hotel and Resort. He was not excited because he doesn’t like the pillows of this hotel. Nahihirapan siya makatulog sa tigas so I always tell him, magbaon ka na lang ng unan natin para malambot. Hehehe!

He stayed in this hotel for so many times already but last week, hindi na siya nakatiis. He mentioned to the hotel staff about his pillows problem and the staff provided feather pillows. May malambot naman pala sila na unan, maybe this is only available if you stay in an upscale room pero dahil standard room lang kay hubby, matigas na pillow. hehehe!

Room and Bathroom

The room and bathroom are spacious.




The room includes free buffet breakfast but for dinner, my husband eats at Kogetsu, a Japanese restaurant inside the resort. Foods are just okay.






The hotel has a golf course, swimming pool, spa, fitness center, and sports area.




Saujana Hotel and Resort may be far from the city center but I think this resort ideal for business and pleasure, so if you are looking for a staycation in Kuala Lumpur this place is for you.

Read: DIY Kuala Lumpur City Tour
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel

The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS,
40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
Malaysia
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