6th Birthday Celebration: Legoland, Malaysia

It's funny how you often wish for what you don't have now.

Last summer, when it was scorching hot in Malaysia, I wished for cool weather. Now that it's typhoon season in Manila, I am longing for the bright ray of sunshine to cheer up this gloomy day.

Legoland was the most awaited part of the trip by the youngest member of our 4-person tour group. I was itching to scrap this off the itinerary before because I couldn't figure out how we can get to Malaysia in a very convenient way. We still ended up taking the bus, but no regrets, if it was the trip highlight for this boy, then it was mine's, too!


Ready for Legoland!

We went on a Wednesday, no lines on the rides.

If you are celebrating your birthday, go to the Guest Services Offices. The entire staff sang Happy Birthday to the surprised boy and gave him a birthday pin. Thank you for this, Legoland. It was a nice touch.

Our first stop was the Driving School where you can actually drive a Lego car. My son has probably dreamed of this even before he thought it was possible.

Concentrating on driving. We got him a driver's license after this as a souvenir of this trip and to make the experience more authentic.

It was really hot and we took refuge in the airconditioned food courts.

The sights

The shark ate him. =)

Are these regular legos? The structures look amazing.

Tried the rides. Most of them are okay for the faint of heart. I screamed a lot though on the roller coaster ride for kids and won't post my too funny, see my tonsils picture here.

Another ride. Forgot the name, but I welcomed the aircon!

Our view at the top

Pictures of the miniature village where only the dad dared to really stare at (again, too hot)

 

 

Again, it was so hot I happily stayed with him to build legos here.

While we appreciate not having to line up to try the rides, it would have been more exciting and fun if he had playmates in this nice play area.

And so serious about shopping! I will be too when I'm only allowed to buy 2 items =)




A good background but no thank you, I wasn't ready for the ride. =)

See you again, Legoland! See you again soon, sunshine!

A weekend in Davao

Last year, one item in our summer bucket list was to see a waterfall.

That didn't materialize, as well as probably 90% on that list.

I'm so happy that months after, we were able to tick that one off the list. Thanks to our last minute booking and decision to join the dad. He's attending the wedding of a good friend, and we happily tagged along.

I packed the day before our early morning flight ( i think 4 am) and we overslept so we were running and puffing as we got to the airport. Mom and dad were tired and stressed. I am usually very early for my flights. But this boy thought all that running was the start of our great Davao adventure.


Our home for that memorable weekend was the Green Windows Dormitel where all the wedding guests were billeted. We love our Boutique King Room (highly recommended! plus they have a salong at the 2nd floor where I had my hair done for the wedding) and after checking in and resting a bit, our family together with another family of three started our Samal Island tour.


What 5 yr old won't be fascinated with caves? Ours surely got curious with this Batcave at Monfort Bat Sanctuary. The clusters of fruit bats gave me the creeps, and the smell was something not so pleasant. But, anything for the boy....

Our next stop was Hagimit Falls.

It was a long walk/trek, but the view was so refreshing.

Given more time, this will be a good place for a stop as it offers native huts perfect for picnics.

See a waterfall? Check!

"Twas his first time on a hanging bridge, too.

 

The rest of that afternoon was spent at a resort where the sun's rays was so harsh I the sunlover chose to hide under the shade, ship my mango juice and eat pizza.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find where I saved most of our Davao pictures. Will update this with more photos as soon as I find the energy to look for them.

The reception was at Waterfront Insular where we posed in front of this giant letters spelling Davao. Perfect for the souvenir shot!

Boracay Inspires

My job requires me to be constantly “inspired”. And so I look at store displays (and shop a little bit in the process), browse nice websites, take a look at trends, read magazines etc etc. But nothing is more inspiring than looking at my boy who will be 3 years old (tomorrow). I’m inspired that I am half of what created this little boy wonder and I am inspired that my every action, my words have an impact on how he’ll turn out—directly or indirectly.

And so we try to create little wonderful traditions and memories that I hope he will enjoy, remember, learn valuable lessons from, cherish and look forward to in the years to come. In the process, I’ve found inspiration from these little pockets of memories.

Our recent 4-day getaway to that little paradise called Boracay is two pronged. It gave me loads of inspiration—it is hard not to get inspired by the blue skies, the calm seas, the oh so cool fruit shake on a hot day and the little boy squealing in delight as the waters run “after him”. No better way to look at things than through the wonder, the amazement in the eyes and the voice of our boy. On the other hand, if our pockets will allow, we’ve created a yearly tradition that he can look forward to.

These trip will be told in several posts. This is just the intro and a sneak peak of how we enjoyed our family time.