Tag: travel

Wonders Of The World

#TBT – That ‘Perfect’ New York Moment…

Maria McDonald

Having grown up in a tropical country, I relished being able to experience the proper winter during my time in Brisbane. Not proficient in skiing, I longed to see and feel snow up-close without running the risk of falling flat on my face, breaking my leg, or both! Having watched endless movies and TV series depicting those fluffy-looking snow drizzling from the sky above, my husband and I trekked up to New York City at the end of 2019, hoping to tick this off our bucket list.

And the city that never sleeps (thankfully) delivered! On the night we had planned to line up and get last-minute tickets to watch the phenomenon that was Hamilton: Musical (this in itself deserves its own blog post), we were greeted by a snow blizzard as soon as we stepped out of our AirBnB, thick ice blanketing grounds and car windshields alike. And whilst the rest of native New Yorkers walking out of their office buildings around the same time exclaimed – in varying degrees of surprise and irritation, “Oh! It’s snowing!” and promptly ran back for cover, these two tourists happily braced the streets of midtown Manhattan. Despite feeling slight numbness on my face from the chilly temperature, I stretched my hands up in the air, lifted my face to feel those dropping snowflakes, spun a whole 360-degree, and squealed the same “It’s snowing…!” in utter delight, creating my own perfect New York moment.

Below are a collection of snow photos (and a video of said blizzard) during our time in NYC.

Have you experienced snow before? Leave a comment to share your story below.

Wonders Of The World

#TBT – Things We Don’t Normally Do Or See In The Big City

Maria McDonald

Once in a while, my husband and I visited his mother’s ancestral home in Balete, Kalibo, Aklan. Away from the hustle and bustle of the big city (about 1-hour flight from Manila and 30-minute drive from Kalibo International Airport), it is a chance to experience a truly different and – in a lot of ways – simpler lifestyle.

So here is a little taste of things we do and/or see during our visit to Balete that we don’t normally encounter in the big city.

Take part in Ati Atihan Festival
Held annually to honour Santo Nino (Holy Child or Infant Jesus), this week-long festival climaxes in a street parade on the third Sunday of January in Kalibo town centre. Showcasing theme floats, dancing groups wearing colourful costumes, marching bands, people sporting face and body paints, they are a sight like no other!

Hala Bira!!!

Drinking coconut juice straight from the tree
Squeezed between one of my husband’s many cousins and my husband on a motorbike (this in itself is an experience we aren’t dare to attempt in metro Manila), we trekked up to mother-in-law’s ancestral land, where coconuts are aplenty. Said cousin would simply climb one of the many coconut trees, chopped off a few coconuts, climbed down, opened them up, and voila! We get to enjoy fresh coconut juice and meat!

What… exactly… is this?
Made out of plastic bottles and caps, we are yet to figure out what kind of apparatus this is. One could only predict it was for decoration purposes only…

Rice fields as far as the eyes can see
Earlier this year, we were lucky enough to visit around the time they were harvesting rice.

Playing sport in the middle of the street
With vehicular traffic nowhere near as dense as the major city, we could use the stretch of the street in front of the house as a makeshift badminton court. You just have to pause and move to the side to let incoming traffic through (which, given the heat, an occasional respite from exercising wasn’t such a bad idea…)

Trek up the mountains… barefoot!
Yes, you read that right! Especially during the rainy season, when the soil turned to sloshy mud after continuous downpour, barefoot is one of the best methods to trek up to Lumaynay to visit my husband’s cousin’s place. Not only it will save your footwear from being ruined (not to mention unsalvageable), but you will also discover (very quickly!) the additional use of your toes when you have to make your way across a narrow bamboo bridge!

Unfortunately, photographic evidence of such time is scarce… After all, one needs both hands to hold on to everything you can (other people’s, tree trunks, sturdy-looking weeds) to keep your balance.

What about you? Where have you travelled that was so far out of your comfort zone? Share your story by commenting below.

Culinary Delights, Wonders Of The World

#TBT (Throwback Thursday) – Our Brush With A ‘Celebrity’

Maria McDonald

Throwback Thursday or #TBT is an internet trend used among social media platforms. Like many internet trends, it is hard to determine who or what exactly started the #TBT hashtag trend. The earliest usage on Instagram was by the user @bobbysander22. Sports Illustrated attributes the origin of the term to a sneaker-specific blog named Nice Kicks. According to SI, this blog began a practice of regular postings (on Thursdays) of photos of old basketball footwear in 2006, titling the series “Throwback Thursday”. Since then, the slogan has blown up to the point where #TBT has been used on Instagram over 500 million times.
Source: Wikipedia

This month’s ‘Throwback Thursday’ is brought to you from the time we went to Bali as part of an extended celebration for my husband’s milestone birthday. Enjoying the sunset as we sat at one of the seaside restaurants at Jimbaran Bay, we cast our glance around and saw Travel and Lifestyle YouTuber Nelly’s Life… sitting two tables away from us!!!

Now… I could… ahem… take the credit and say I planned the whole thing; that I had stalked her YouTube channel, found out that she was going to the same country, and suggested to husband to dine at the same restaurant. Truthfully, though, this was pure coincidence; a case of being at the right place, at the right time.

Knowing this opportunity might never come again, we abandoned our table to strike a conversation with her. After a quick photo snap to commemorate the occasion (after all, this might be the closest we would ever get to brush shoulders with someone famous!), we headed back to our table in time to have our dinner served. And judging by the fact that there were more dishes on the table compared to our original order, perhaps, the establishment thought we were also fellow YouTubers!

Have you ever encountered a celebrity (of any kind)? Did you do the star-struck thing and approach them, or did you leave them be (or just take a snapshot of them as they walked past)? Share your stories by commenting below.