Rediscovering The Joy Of Travel

Travel & Food Buzz

Pattaya Beach, Thailand

It’s been 2 years and 6 months since my last travel abroad and it seems like eternity for someone who would see the world at least twice a year (one long haul and one short haul trip). The pandemic has created a sedentary lifestyle and actually resulted to some 20 pounds of weight gain. I have been itching to travel to at least get rid of the excess “baggage” (I would normally lose weight every time I travel with all the walking) as I see travelling as a means not only to de-stress but also a good way to rack up steps in my Pacer.

(Left photo) Pattaya December 2019 or 2.5 years ago and 20.5lbs lighter; (right photo) Pattaya June 2022 and doesn’t feel so sexy so just serving face lol

So when the Philippine government relaxed its travel requirements for inbound residents where they don’t require any form of testing as long as you have your booster shot already, I decided to get myself a booster even if my last antibody test showed that I still have high levels of COVID antibodies. If you have read my previous article “I Got Vaccinated and My COVID Antibodies Are Off The Roof” (https://columbusbee.blog/2021/09/15/i-got-vaccinated-and-my-covid-antibodies-are-off-the-roof/), after getting fully vaccinated in August of last year, my antibody levels in September showed more than 2500 units/ml (2500 u/ml is the machine limit so it literally broke the machine lol). On February this year (or 5 months after my last test), I had myself tested again to see whether I would already need a booster shot but my antibody level was at 2284 units/ml, which is still very high given that the normal protection level is somewhere between 100-400 units/ml. That’s why I decided to defer the booster in the meantime and let others who need it more than I do take first dibs. But when the new travel requirement came out in June, it was probably a sign to have it as an annual shot (regardless of the antibody level) and plan that much deserved trip.

COVID quantitative antibody test results. As you can see, my antibody protection level hasn’t really declined more than 5 months after my 2nd vaccine dose

I went through a lot in the last nine months both personally and professionally. That’s why this trip was important to me as it will rekindle that old feeling of anticipation. Anticipating time off from work, anticipating the joy of doing nothing (if you have seen the movie or read the book “Eat, Pray, Love,” this is what Italians would say “La dolce far niente” or the sweetness of doing nothing), anticipating new experiences and surprises as well as the old and familiar. As I mentioned in my earlier article “The Joys of Travelling (Solo)” (https://columbusbee.blog/2019/06/01/the-joys-of-travelling-solo/), you won’t be the same person between the time you embarked on a trip and after your return, carrying with you something new and old, even if having gone through the same or similar experiences. Given that it is only a short time off (essentially eight days of rest and recreation excluding travel time), I cannot eat in Italy, pray in India, and find love in Indonesia. So I thought why not go to Japan when you can do all three things? Japan though still has strict travel requirements, where they only allow tour groups at this time. So individual/solo travelers are still not allowed. Going to Italy also crossed my mind (where you can also do all three things) where I still have the travel voucher from the Europe trip that I was supposed to take in May 2020 (if the pandemic didn’t cause the flight cancellation), but the fares have shot up (twice the price if I have booked the ticket say in Feb) which is expected if you book a flight so close to summer. I have also thought of Guam, but the fares are more expensive than usual (particularly the return flight), not sure if because summer has officially kicked in as well.

La dolce far niente or the sweetness of doing nothing

So I thought why not go to my fave country in Southeast Asia: Thailand. I have been to Thailand a few times already and it’s my go-to destination if I just want a quick escape from everything. It is a perfect destination if you are looking for beaches, good food, and nice people. Of course you can eat, pray, and love (and I did a lot of eating and prayed as well, but didn’t find love). Thailand also has relaxed its inbound travel requirements in June (no need for testing and quarantine if fully vaxxed, you just need to secure a Thailand Pass online which is more like a health declaration and save the QR code on your phone), so less hassle and it’s time to return to the country that I last visited before the pandemic (December 2019).

My Google Maps Timeline email notification

And just like that, I was queueing at the Philippine passport control in the airport as if it was pre-pandemic and took some meals from the lounge while waiting for my flight. The only difference this time is that you order your food online and will be served on your table. So I ordered anything that I can eat (I had the popular arroz caldo and adobo rice topping) and drink (two cans of Coke Zero and a bottle of water) since it would take some time for the same to be served, unlike before where you just take what you want to eat or drink from the different counters. Soon I found myself settling on my business class seat in Thai Airways’ 777-300ER. I can’t remember if it was the same aircraft that I flew last time, but the seat is much different now, which is a pleasant surprise (these are the types of surprises that I like when travelling). Unlike before where the seats are just wider than economy and with an arm rest that extends to a mini drink counter (think of Philippine Airlines business class seats for local flights or US airlines business class seats for regional flights), the flight now has its own cube (or mini suite whatever you may call it) where each seat is separated from the adjacent seat like having your own enclave (the cabin has a 1-2-1 seat configuration). I took the window seat which means I don’t have any adjacent neighbor (safer during this time of COVID). The seat can fully recline into a flat bed and the cube looks like that of Etihad’s business class seat (though this flight is a short haul one unlike the Etihad flight to Europe that I took a few years back). Though you don’t really need a flat bed for a 3-hour flight (or a business class seat for that matter), but gives you options for a comfortable (if you want to take a power nap) and safer flight.

(Left photo) Thai Airways business class seat December 2019; (right photo) business class seat June 2022. Both are window seats. See the huge difference?

I arrived in Bangkok late at night (almost midnight) and since I already arranged for my airport transfer thru Klook, it was a hassle free trip where I’ll just have to wait for the car to arrive and pick me up. That gave me some time to rest before I headed out to Pattaya around noon the next day. It was almost a mirror trip of 2019 where my itinerary was almost the same (except for the Saigon leg of the former). I flew on the same airline (where the seats have leveled up), stayed in the same hotels (All Accor Hotels but will probably change brands in the future due to its very poor Customer Care service), ate on the same places (except for some new ones), sunbathed on the same beaches (though I didn’t feel as sexy as before lol), prayed on the same temples (and new shrines), and shopped in the same malls (plus more with one mall that fascinated me as a traveler). The only thing that I probably didn’t do this time was catch a movie since I’ve already seen some of the movies that were on (Doctor Strange 2 and Maverick 2).

From top left: salmon and kani sashimi, tempura and gyoza, salmon teriyaki, and another serving of salmon and kani sashimi (I love sashimi!)

Most of the trip was spent in Pattaya and I’m just glad that it wasn’t as crowded as the last time. I made a trip down memory lane by eating at familiar places, but this time had more varieties. My food trip started with Japanese. I was actually looking forward to eat at my fave eat-all-you-can Japanese resto (Shabushi by Oishi) but I thought got shuttered due to pandemic when I can’t find it only to realize that I was on the wrong floor (one of those senior moments lol). So I ended up eating at Zen Restaurant. This is one of those detours that end up as pleasant surprises. The food was fresh and the place is comfy where you can binge and chill at the same time. I had my usual sashimi (salmon and kani), tempura, gyoza, miso soup, and salmon teriyaki. I eventually went to Shabushi and relish on shabu-shabu (I used to go there for lunch almost everyday on my last trip), enjoying a wide variety of meat and seafood. Next on the food trip was Southeast Asian fares, starting of course with Thai food. Before leaving for Thailand, I was already craving for my fave tom yum (hot and sour mixed seafood soup). I haven’t found a decent tom yum where I live so the anticipation has been building up. I ended up having it in one of those roadside eateries called J Daeng (which looks like the same roadside eatery as the one in Phuket where I had very good tom yum years ago). Well, as far as tom yum goes, the place didn’t disappoint, but the shrimp cakes that I ordered was just so-so (I was also craving for fish cakes, but then there was none in the menu). Other Southeast Asian comfort food that I had are Singapore’s hainanese chicken rice, which is actually common where I live (I used to eat at Nanyang restaurant at Powerplant Mall years ago before it shut down) and my latest discovery, Malaysia’s bak kut teh (pork ribs soup), which grows on you after a few sips of that delicious pork broth.

Top left: Singapore’s hainanese chicken rice, Malaysia’s bak kut teh (pork ribs soup), and Thailand’s shrimp cakes and tom yum (hot and sour mixed seafood soup)

Next stop is Korean. One thing I noticed not just in Pattaya but also in Bangkok (and probably just anywhere else in Thailand) is the proliferation of not just Japanese restaurants (or anything Japanese for that matter) but also those specializing in Korean food. It’s probably because Japanese and Korean tourists stay longer than any other nationalities. So I had Korean barbeque at Sukishi. It was ok, I enjoyed it but not as much as Shabushi (maybe because I like my food steamed or boiled than barbequed). While there, I got fascinated with the Terminal 21 mall where it is located. This is the first time I’ve visited the mall and I actually like the airport terminal concept. I mean where can you find an Eiffel Tower inside of a mall? I’ve seen replicas of Eiffel Towers before (just like the one in Vegas), but not inside a mall. Each level has different themes and represent a country or a city (ie ground floor is Paris, next levels are Italy, Tokyo, and San Francisco). I was able to appreciate the themes more (Paris is represented by Eiffel Tower, Italy by Leaning Tower of Pisa and different statues, Tokyo by cherry blossoms, San Francisco by the Fisherman’s Wharf) because I actually have been to all these countries/cities.

Terminal 21 mall. Isn’t this mall fascinating?

Bangkok has its fair share of food trip and shopping as well. I don’t leave Bangkok without going to two of my favorite restaurants: Somboon and Square Restaurants. Somboon, home of the original fried curry crabs, has my fave roasted fresh water prawns with glass noodles. I used to order the one with crabs, but there are times that a single order will come with portions of crabs that are heavy on shells, so I would choose prawns instead. In this trip, I discovered a new dish that I really like, which is oyster omelet. Square, on the other hand, is an eat-all-you can buffet. I like this resto coz not only does it offer fresh prawns and mussels (where you can eat to your heart’s content) and Japanese fares (sushi and sashimi) and some delicious soups, but also it is one of those value for money restos.

Korean Barbeque plus salmon sashimi and gyoza (see, even in a Korean resto, I still want my sashimi lol)

There are also new restos that I’ve tried during this trip. As mentioned earlier, I was craving for fish cakes so I tried Baan Ying. The fish cake was just ok, but what I like was the crab meat in chili crab sauce. This is a better alternative to ordering a crab where sometimes you’ll end up with more shells than meat. It has generous portions of crab meat and you can never go wrong with crab chili sauce. Another one that I tried out was Kam’s Roast, a Michelin starred resto in Hongkong that has its biggest offshore branch in Bangkok. I had the popular roasted duck/goose and the combo of toro char siu and char siu (barbequed pork differentiated by pork cuts). Both are delish! These Chinese fares actually cap the food trip, after having Japanese, Southeast Asian, and Korean gastronomic delights.

From left: Roasted fresh water prawn with glass noodles, oyster omelet, and fresh river prawns and mussels. I love Thailand’s river prawns coz the meat has a bit of natural sweetness.

I don’t leave Thailand without doing my usual prayers to their deities. As I’ve written in my previous article “Dear Mama Mary” (https://columbusbee.blog/2019/09/14/dear-mama-mary/), I embrace all religions and beliefs, as long as it makes sense to me. So I visited Wat Pho again. home of the reclining Buddha (apparently the biggest in all of Thailand), as well as discovering new shrines such as the shrine of Trimurti (God of love, health, and fortune) and shrine of Ganesha (God of success). I went all out with the offerings (each shrine would have its own prescribed set of offerings) coz you’ll never know when the Gods will go all out in granting your prayers.

Top left: Chinese roasted duck/goose, combo of Chinese toro char siu and char siu (barbequed pork in two different pork cuts), Thailand’s fish cakes and crab meat in crab chili sauce

Then I realized that the trip was almost over. Just like any trips in the past, it will come to a close. So after picking up a few items at Duty Free, I was again having some meals at the lounge. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, being the hub of Thai Airways, would have expectedly better food and drinks selection in the lounge than the one in Manila, and no need for an app this time since the food and drinks are available in the different counters for you to just pick up and bring to your chosen lounge seat. Then I found myself settling on my seat in the plane, realizing that I’ll be back to work in a few hours. But then, after such a long wait, I finally did what I’ve been longing to do: rediscovering the joy of travel. Not exactly the “Eat, Pray, Love” itinerary, but no doubt I did eat and pray (love will happen when it happens). I don’t even need to go to Japan to do all things Japanese, or be in Guam to do shopping. I don’t need to take a European tour again (at least this year) to reminisce how much I enjoy Europe. All I need is just Thailand.

Coz the saying “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” does not only apply to life, but also to travel experiences, surprises, and detours that make up a good trip.

After a long wait, I finally did it!

Travel In Style (Without Breaking The Bank) – Part 1 of 2

Travel Buzz

Not a few of you have been asking how I get to travel in style (business class seats, 3-5 star hotel accomodations, dining out, the whole shebang) particularly now that you’ve seen me in my newly opened Instagram account (columbusbee.gram). As I’ve mentioned in my previous post (Deconstructing A Myth: Travel Is Only For The Rich?), you don’t have to be wealthy to get to travel and you don’t have to be Crazy Rich Asian to travel in style. Truth be told, there are ways to travel in style without breaking the bank. So I’ll let you in to some of my ‘secrets’ so that you too can be stylish jetsetter.

In the last 9 years or so, there has been an advent of promo fares here in Manila and I’m not even referring to a local airline’s one peso fare. These are promotional fares from highly rated airlines, either thru travel expos, tie ups with major credit card companies or their very own flash sale. Looking for good buys is just like shopping for bargains and anticipating mall sale. My first venture into this airfare bargain hunting was going to travel expos. Every year, there is a travel expo around the 2nd weekend of February organized by travel agents association. Multiple airlines would offer marked down prices, especially for business class fares. I remember getting business class fares for $999 to Europe (exclusive of taxes), or something like less than $1100 net. That’s a pretty good deal given that it only costs as much as a regular economy ticket. Of course nowadays, you can’t find that kind of price points anymore. where the good buys would be between $1,600 to $1900 to Europe or US. Anything more than that would already be a rip off in my book (unless you’re flying Emirates or Qatar Airways where a little premium will go a long way).

The second path to a successful hunt is thru airlines tie up with major credit card companies. It is essential then to have a very good credit card for this purpose (you’ll need a credit card anyway when you travel). Personally, there are only two credit cards that in my experience offer the best airline tie ups: Citi and American Express (where the latter is issued by BDO locally). I’ve seen promos from BPI (usually tie ups with Singapore Airlines), Metrobank, Security Bank, etc. but nothing beats these two when it comes to the depth (prices) and breadth (participating airlines). Travel sale for these airlines gives the public the option to get it from their onsite travel sale (similar to travel expos but exclusively for their credit card holders), thru their airline offices, or online. For BDO cards, there are times that there would be pre-sale (usually a day before the actual sale) exclusively for their elite cardholders (ie Amex Platinum, BDO Titanium, etc.) where they can have first dibs on promotional fares. Sorry to say that not all credit cards are created equal. There is a caste system among credit cards but don’t fret, having the right credit card would already get you into this world of low airfares. For example, you don’t need to be an Amex Platinum or a BDO Titanium cardholder. All you need to do is just to have any Amex or BDO card. There’s this Blue Amex that I heard is being widely marketed nowadays (compared to the more exclusive Amex Platinum) and of course your regular BDO credit card. You just need to ensure that you are in their email list where they send announcements of their forthcoming fare sale.

This is how I got my latest promo fare. Oman Air has a promo last April for BDO cardholders (I’m an Amex cardholder). Though the flights to Europe on promo are limited to certain destinations only, Oman Air also launched its maiden flight to Athens starting June, so I decided to make Athens as my port of entry to Europe and booked the promo business class fare for $1,760 inclusive of taxes (so the airfare was about $1,600+). This is a good buy compared to regular business fare of about $2,600 (or about 33% discount) and regular economy fare of about $1,200 for the same airline.

Basking in the sun on infinity pool lounge with the Aegean Sea, beach, and mountains as backdrop (Mykonos Island)

The third path is thru airlines’ flash sale. Here, as long as you have a credit card, you can already purchase promo fares online. Airlines would normally have these flash sales on special occasions (such as airline anniversary, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any holiday or season that these airlines are celebrating). You just have to watch out for these special occasions during certain times of the year or to regularly check out the websites of your favorite airlines.

Once you have started flying, you can join the airlines frequent flyer programs. I’m currently a member of five (5) programs: Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines), Asia Miles, Miles & More (Lufthansa), Enrich (Malaysia Airlines), and Mabuhay Miles (Philippine Airlines). I’ve flown other airlines as well, but since they are part of airlines’ global alliances (for example, Thai Airways is in the same alliance with Singapore Airlines under Star Alliance) I don’t need to enroll in their own loyalty programs. The miles that I would be entitled to will just be credited to my existing loyalty program (so the miles that I will get from a Thai Airways ticket I will just have it credited to my Krisflyer account). What’s special with frequent flyer program is that aside from getting notified of the airline’s forthcoming promotional fares, they also offer miles sale (where you get free airfare at marked down miles compared to regular miles required to redeem a free flight). I find Krisflyer to be very good at this in terms of depth (miles discount) and breadth (you can have the option to redeem your miles thru another airline that is a member of the global alliance). For example, last December, when I went on vacation to Bangkok and Pattaya, I have an expiring 25,00 miles in my Krisflyer account. I tried checking for the required miles for a business class ticket and there was a business saver promo for 40,000 miles (compared to the regular 80,000 miles). So I transferred 20,000 miles from my Citi Premier Miles (that’s the credit card I would recommend among Citi cards if you like travelling) to meet the required Krisflyer miles for redemption. My business class redemption was confirmed for the Manila – Bangkok leg of the Singapore Airline flight (with layover in Singapore) but was waitlisted for the return flight. So I clicked the Star Alliance button on their website and found that Thai Airways business class was available for my return date. So I flew back (Bangkok – Manila) direct on Thai Airways flight business class for free (ok, not totally free coz only the airfare is free and you still have to pay a minimal amount for the taxes/surcharges). So I got to compare business class experience between these two airlines from these two short haul trips.

(Up next: Accomodations and Incidentals)

The Joys of Travelling (Solo)

Travel Buzz

Travelling alone seems to be a distant and daunting concept to most people. I remember in my latest foreign trip last December to Bangkok and Pattaya where the Philippine immigration officer asked me what’s the purpose of my travel to Thailand and I said ‘For vacation.’ That puzzling look comes with the dreaded question “Alone?”. I said ‘Yes.’ I lost count of how many times I would have to answer that question, both here in my beloved country and at the passport control of some countries (though some countries have already recognized the growing niche market of people travelling solo, particularly among millennials). So what makes travelling solo appealing to people like me?

Wandering in the wild while on wildlife safari (Pilanesberg)

Not that I don’t like traveling with company. I had the pleasure of traveling with my folks a few years ago to Europe. Since I’ve been to Europe a few times before that trip, I was officially their travel guide, baggage collector, personal assistant, and jack of all trades. It gave me the opportunity to play a role of a good host, making sure that all their needs are taken care of. I’ve never seen my Dad cried before, so when I finally did see those tears of joy, it was priceless. My Mom now has bragging rights of having breakfast in Italy, lunch in Spain, and dinner in France all in the same day! How’d that happen? Well, after spending a week in Italy, the next leg of the trip was Lourdes (France). But there was no direct flight from Rome to Lourdes, where we have to take a flight via Barcelona with about 5 hours layover. Since it was an early flight, we had breakfast in Rome. When we arrived in Barcelona before 10AM, knowing that we have about 5 hours to kill, I decided to bring them to the city (I was in Barcelona the year before so I pretty much know my way around). So I rented a locker in the airport, put all our hand-carry bags in, and took a cab to the city. I brought them to Sagrada Familia, the iconic, majestic Gaudi creation that is still unfinished up to this day. Then we had lunch before we took our connecting flight to Lourdes. We arrived in Lourdes late in the afternoon and had an early dinner.

Stumbling into the bizarre (Kuthna Hora)

I also had traveled with my sis and bro-in-law, both in Europe and US, a few years ago. For the Europe trip, we went together to London, then went our separate ways , them to places I’ve been to, while I to places I haven’t been to. We rendezvoused in Paris (among my top 5 cities), after which we went back to London for our return flight to Manila. With them it’s different, coz I’m in a company of people my age (ok, I’m a few years older, but believe me, I would usually be mistaken as the younger sibling). The activities and the dining are also different, since there are 3 people making decisions.

I have traveled with friends also and that too is different experience. You know, you play roles and act differently when you’re with your friends, family, and peers at work. You are behaved with parents, can be timid with siblings, goofy with friends, and proper with peers or staff at work.

Standing in the oldest standing structure in the world (Gozo)

So what makes traveling solo appealing? Traveling alone gives you that freedom to be just yourself. You don’t have to be behaved, timid, goofy, and proper. You are free as a bird. That freedom leads you to a path of self discovery.

As I mentioned in my earlier post (entitled Hey, it’s me), ‘I travel to overwhelm my senses, to discover and to explore, to savor and experience so that at the end of the day, I’ll come out a different, better person with a story to tell.’ What better way to achieve that than by traveling alone. This is why I now have stories to tell. I’m now a different person than I was before my last trip, than I was on that trip prior to the last one, and so on and so forth. The path to self discovery is best traveled only with and by yourself.

Channeling Leonardo di Caprio on The Beach (Phi Phi Island)

Traveling solo also gives you the flexibility and latitude to make the trip exclusively your own. You don’t have to wait for someone if you want to start your day already. You don’t have to worry if you want to make changes in your itinerary. You don’t have to be constrained by the needs of your company. Your time is your own. You don’t have to deal with the drama coz your drama is your own.

Charming the snakes with the snake charmers (Marrakesh)

The next best thing after self discovery is that you meet people and see the goodness in them. A couple of years back, I tripped and fell on the rugged cobblestone covered streets of Porto. Since it was my hand and cellphone that broke the fall, my hand was dripping with blood and I was a bit disoriented while lying still on the ground. Tourists and locals alike ran towards me to assist and helped me get up. Some offered me bottled water, thinking I was dehydrated and lost consciousness under the summer heat. In a second, you feel you’re not alone. Though your world turned upside down after the fall, you are surrounded by thoughtful, caring, and generous strangers, thinking how lucky you are to experience the innate goodness and pureness of heart.

Then there are the new friends you meet along the way. I have met young and old, abled and disabled, singles, couples, and families. The thing with solo travelers is that we tend to be magnets to families particularly if you have a certain charm (wink wink). How many times have I been invited to join families having a meal, or in their family activities. Like an adopted son or nephew. It’s actually very heartwarming.

Dennis and Maria of Germany. Lovely couple I met while having tapas in a resto (Barcelona)

You also tend to be adventurous when you are on your own. You try things you haven’t tried before, go to places you haven’t seen before. From mounting Mt. Vesuvius to cruising Milford Sounds. From discovering the bizarre in Kuthna Hora to navigating the exotic medinas of Marrakesh and Essaouira. To be awed by Kotor and dreamy in Amalfi. From channeling Leonardo di Caprio on The Beach of Phi Phi Island to water rafting the rivers of Queenstown for the Lord of the Rings sceneries. To be captivated by the Game of Thrones vibe of Dubrovnik and held captive for a moment in Alcatraz. From exploring the old in Gozo to what’s new in Shinjuku. You will realize that there is so much more you can do on your own.

So have I convinced you to go solo? I know that travel is not for everyone, much more traveling alone, but you should at least try it once in your lifetime. You will discover the world around you and uncover the world within you.