Cleveland in January

January is the off-peak of travel. For one, this is winter. No one really likes to go out in the cold! Well unless you want to go skiing and do other winter sports.

So for us, January was a good time to see other places where it snows. We haven't experienced snow, like real snow, so maybe going to Cleveland (US midwest) which does get a good deal of snow will check this off our bucket list. But it didn't really snow when we were there! So we just went to a tubing place to get some fake snow. LOL

So here are the places we visited in Cleveland for the 3 days we were there:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - a must go!!!
West Side Market
Quicken Loans Arena - we did watch an NBA game - Cleveland Cavs vs Detroit Pistons and saw Lebron James in action!
Cleveland Museum of Art (free!)
The Largest Rubber Stamp
Old Arcade
Public Square
Lakeview Cemetery
Franklin's Castle
Polar Blast Tubing - we had to do this! Even if this is about 40 mins away from Cleveland. We just took Uber. We don't like driving! lol
Tried coffee from Passengers Cafe and Rising Stars Coffee.
Passengers Cafe had a hostel above it and that's where we stayed.

If it wasn't that cold, we could have done a lot! LOL

Exploring Albay - Camalig, Ligao, Polangui

On our second day in Albay, we decided on visiting Camalig, Ligao, and Polangui.

The second day was very very rainy day, so our mobility was limited.

We decided on going first to Camalig. We took a jeepney from Legazpi to Camalig and asked the driver to drop us off at the town center or where their municipal building is. We first have to visit their tourist center and ask for advise on what is the best way to go around the tourist spots in Camalig. The tourist center is actually just along the highway.

The guy on duty at the tourist center suggested we skip Quitinday since it's a really rainy day, and besides we don't have our own transport so it makes it lot more difficult. So our itinerary was short - Hoyop-hoyopan Cave and Sumlang Lake. The guy got us our tricycle who took us to these spots.

Hoyop-hoyopan Cave was  like a 40-min ride by tricycle.

The fee for the tour at Hoyop-hoyopan cave was 300 pesos.  It was cheap if you were in groups of 4 or more. But I find it expensive as there were only two of us. They should have pegged this fee per person rather than per group, and have it at say 50 per person.

After touring Hoyop-hoyopan cave, we went to Sumlang Lake. It was still raining hard, and Sumlang Lake was just like any ordinary lake. There were a lot of school kids that day, who despite the rain took effort to ride the rafts.

After a quick stay in Sumlang Lake, it was time to have our hearty lunch with the famous Bicolano dish Pinangat.

Thereafter, and still raining, we took a jeepney ride to Ligao City to check out Kawa-kawa Hill.

Kawa-kawa hill is named as such because the hill resembles a 'kawa'.

And since it was still raining, we just took a pic of the Last Supper sculpture.

Then we found a resto serving Halo-halo with lambanog. So we took our respite in this place.

Still having much time left for the day, we decided on going to Polangui. We think it might be worthy checking out their old church.

So we ended up getting soaked when we reached Polangui town. We just went to their church.
And since it was raining very hard, we took shelter there. But there was a funeral service. So after 10 or 15 mins, we left and went back to Legazpi.

We had dinner at the 1st Colonial Grill. My dearie wanted to try the chili ice cream at level 3!

Called it a day after dinner and slept well hoping the next day will be sunny!!! =)


Next - 3rd day - Discovering Daraga!

Dearies' first trip outside Philippines

So we are all excited about this trip. One it's my first trip to Malaysia. Second, it's my dearie's first trip abroad. For this trip, I didn't make an organised itinerary. I just had a list of places to go. But one good thing is of course I booked all the accommodations in advance. One thing is sure that on the four days we are in Malaysia, we have to do Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.

In Kuala Lumpur we stayed at Myspace Inn. It's accessible via the monorail (get off at the Titiwangsa station).  Place is cheap and clean. Although the walk between the train station and the hostel is a bit creepy at night (and on weekends), it was a good find.  Just to be safe don't book the place if you're a woman travelling alone.  

In Melaka, we stayed at the Riverview Guesthouse. It's an old house turned hostel. I love the quaintness of the place. It's also situated beside the Melaka river. You can enjoy a good view of the river at night and have some beers. 

We arrived at KLIA2 via Air Asia on July 25 1030am. It was a long walk from the tarmac to the immigration counter, like it was 30 mins or more. 

KLIA2 has wifi and has a mall. So if you feel like going shopping, there are a wide range of shops to spend your money. If you're hungry, don't fret KLIA2 has lots of food choices.  We were both hungry and opted for a Malaysian meal so we ate at Kluang Station Heritage Shared. It was the first Malaysian resto that we saw. 

I had my Philippine monies changed to ringgits at the airport which was a bad idea. I know! Yet I still changed my monies there. Anyway, we had my dearie's monies changed at the city where the rates are better. 

According to the instructions of the hostel, we can either take the bus to KL Central or the KL Express train. Of course, the bus was the cheapest one. The KL express can take you 35 mins to KL Central. The bus will take more than an hour. The bus was only for 12RM per person while the KL Express would cost your 35RM per person. 

Once we got off at KL Central, we have to get on the monorail and head off to Titiwangsa Station and from there we have to walk some 3 minutes to the hostel. We just followed the directions provided by the hostel, and by asking around, we reached Myspace Inn with not much hassle. 

Tired and sleepy, and it was raining, so we didn't plan much touristy stuff.  We had dinner at Nando's, Festival City. It was one of the must do we listed. And did some shopping. :)

Next day was full packed as it was our last day in Kuala Lumpur.  It was also a Sunday, and as Catholics, we have to attend mass.

First stop was Batu Caves since it opens at 7am. We got there at 8am, climbed up the 270+ steps.

Next stop was St. John's Cathedral to attend the mass at 10ish. As expected, you'll find lots of Filipinos at the church. :)  Outside the church, you'll also see our kababayans selling stuffs. 

Now both hungry, we had lunch at this somewhat hawker center which served buffet meals. 

Another Malaysian treat. I've been eating a lot of rice on this trip. 

Right after lunch, we went around the area near Masjid Jamek: Merdeka Square, KL City Gallery (where you can find the I LOVE KL sign), Central Market, etc. 

After walking around these areas, it was time for my IKEA must do. There is no IKEA in the Philippines so I really wanted to go to one! 

IKEA in Malaysia is located in Damansara. It is not accessible via train. But there is a free shuttle bus from Petaling Jaya station. 

Well, when we got to Petaling Jaya, we couldn't find the shuttle bus. We ended up taking the cab for 25RM. No meter. :( 

Goodness, IKEA was teeming with people on a Sunday! And I was not prepared. I didn't know what to do inside an IKEA store. So we first went to the showroom. Then off to the warehouse. 

I bought the curtains I wanted to buy. We also bought an umbrella, hangers, scented candle, fridge locks. Okay, I was there for the IKEA experience. I wanted to buy other stuffs but didn't know how to find them. :( 

We took the free shuttle bus back to Petaling Jaya and headed off to KLCC for the Petronas twin towers. I love how the towers lit up at night! And of course we just had to take our pics with these grand towers. 

Now hungry, we went inside KLCC for our dinner. And again another Malaysian staple food of Nasi lemak. 

Tired and done for the day, we headed back to our hostel. 

Next day was bound for Melaka. 

It was a sunny Monday. We have to take a bus from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) to Melaka. There were a number of buses that serve Melaka from TBS. 

We didn't book our ticket beforehand. Besides it was a weekday so we didn't think it would be that difficult. 

The bus ride to Melaka Sentral takes about 2 to 3 hours.  No stopovers.  So you better have some food with you on this trip.  

We took the 1030am trip and we got to Melaka Sentral by noon, we were famished. 

We had lunch at a Thai carenderia.  We decided to purchase our bus tickets for the following day. We booked it for 245pm. Our flight back to Manila was at 950PM. 

The hostel's instructions were simple and clear. Take no. 17 bus, and get off at the Dutch (red) square. I can't remember how much the fare was (either 1 or 2RM).  So I told the driver we have to get off at the Dutch square.

From the Dutch square, we walked our way to our hostel. Instructions provided were easy. But it was a very hot day, so the walk from the Dutch square to the hostel was quite tiring. 

Once settled in at our hostel, we decided to take the colorful trishaw rides. It's a bit pricey. It costs us 50RM for both of us. It should only be 40RM if you are alone in the trishaw. 

The ride is only for 45 mins. Actually you can opt to walk around. The places we went to are just walking distance. But it was a very hot day, so doing the trishaw was not bad after all.

After our trishaw ride, we decided to explore the malls to buy souvenirs. 

We had an early dinner at an Old Town restaurant. I had my fave Kaya toast. And we again had a feast of Nasi lemak. :)

We went back to our hostel by foot, passed by Jonker Street. If we had been there on a weekend, we would have enjoyed the night market on Jonker Street. 

We capped the day with beers by the Melaka riverside at the Riverview Cafe (also owned by the same people as the Riverview Guesthouse).

The next day we decided to just go around the center, walk up the river, and visit a few museums. Well I think we ended up visiting only the Islamic Museum. 

Then we had lunch at the best Hainanese chicken rice ball in town!!! We saw this place on our first day and was wondering of the long line of people. So we decided to have lunch here. My dearie was not fascinated with the rice balls but I was! If I had a longer time in Melaka, I would go have another meal in this place. It was only after the trip that I learned of the resto's name Kedai Kopi Chung Wah. This is situated beside Hard Rock Cafe.

Check out time at the hostel was 12noon. We took the cab instead of the bus to Melaka Sentral bus station for 25RM which the hostel arranged for us.

Since we got early at the bus station, I requested to change our bus trip from 245PM to 145PM. 

From TBS, we took the bus to KLIA2 4pm trip. Arrived at KLIA2 past 5pm and learned that our flight back to Manila was moved to 1130PM! Sigh...We had a lot of free time so we googled for options, and decided on going to Mitsui Outlet which offered free shuttle buses to and from KLIA2. 

Mitsui Outlet just opened this year. We roamed around, tried to look for cheap stuffs, had dinner at the food court and went back to KLIA2 at around 8pm. 

Spent the loose ringgits on coffee and a few goodies. 

Vacay ends. Planning on for the next one. 

Oh by the way, Air Asia plane had electrical troubles by the time we landed in Manila Terminal 4. Hmmm. What if that had happened mid air??? I'm considering not taking Air Asia ever!!! But glad we got back home safe. 

Terima kasih, Malaysia!