Author: ishg

It’s in the Bag
gibberish · the mom life · travel

It’s in the Bag

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Back in my previous life as an oft-solo backpacker, I almost had packing down to a precise ritual. A typical packing list for a weekend getaway would look like this:

  • At least 1 pair of denim shorts
  • 2 tank tops
  • A dress, if space permits
  • Small notebook and pen
  • Kindle (or a compact book)
  • My handy-dandy wrist wallet
  • Passport
  • A shoelace (just in case I need to tie anything)
  • A pair of flip-flops
  • Plastic bag for dirty clothes
  • Underwear
  • 2 pairs of swimsuits (the bikini tops are to be used as bras)
  • Deodorant and travel-size bottle of shampoo (to be also used as body wash)
  • Very light shawl (to double up as the flight blanket)
  • Camera (optional)
  • Phone and phone charger
  • Small accessories (earrings, necklaces, or bracelets)

And that was it. Everything would fit in my impossibly narrow but somehow spacious carry-on backpack. My mantra was to pack as little as possible, and improvise for whatever I left behind.

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Walchensee, Come and See
travel

Walchensee, Come and See

ishg2 Comments

Say what you want about Tiktok, but without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon this gorgeous local secret. I mean, I completely understand why Bavarians would want the Walchensee all for themselves. Just take a look at that sparkling turquoise water!

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Wackenwald: The “WOBBLING” Forest
europe · travel

Wackenwald: The “WOBBLING” Forest

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I was today years old when I found out that in Germany, there’s a forest where the ground is so soft, that the trees shake when you jump. Talk about wacky!

When my in-laws told me about a forest with “natural trampolines”, I just thought that they meant that the ground was just mushy. I foolishly just brushed it off, until on an extremely sunny weekend, we checked it out on a whim. It was so cool in real life! See the video below:

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The Lifesaver That Is Mövenpick Boracay
asia · philippines · travel

The Lifesaver That Is Mövenpick Boracay

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** This is a looooong-overdue post, from my journal entry from almost exactly a year ago, when we first brought my then 9-month old son to the Philippines. Hopefully, when a COVID-19 vaccine is available and things clear up for travel again, we can come back and create memories in Mövenpick once more.

Here I was in Boracay, one of my happiest places on the entire Earth, and I was downright miserable. Things were awry starting from when we got to the island. The supposedly “premium” transfer airport-to-hotel service we book was so awfully coordinated, that a DIY would have gone much smoother. The hotel I booked was also nothing like I expected. Is there nothing worse than being greeted by cockroaches in the bathroom for 3 days straight? My morale was dangerously spiraling down to zero. I definitely needed a break from this vacation.

Enter Mövenpick to the rescue. After my husband (sanely) talked me out of wasting money by rebooking another hotel, we decided to find a compromise and “splurged” on a day pass on one of the fanciest hotels in Boracay. At 2k pesos with 1.6k pesos consumable, I actually found the day pass rates downright reasonable for a hotel of this caliber, for the refuge and facilities they offered.

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20 Alternative Ways to Travel In The Time of Coronavirus
travel

20 Alternative Ways to Travel In The Time of Coronavirus

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Three years ago, I wrote 25 Travel Goals to Set For the Year (for Those Who Can’t Wander Very Far), back when I just quit my job to move to Germany, and had to think of ways to satisfy my wanderlust without breaking the bank. I thought I’d update that list to keep up with what every travel-addicted kindred spirit is probably struggling with right now: how to feed that same wanderlust, when you’re not exactly allowed to travel as far as you’re used to.

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Digital Detox for the Girl Who Can’t Step Away From Her Phone
gibberish

Digital Detox for the Girl Who Can’t Step Away From Her Phone

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Drug Dealers and IT are the only people who call their customers “users”. – Daniel O’Leary

It is quite impossible to dodge all the foreboding articles lamenting that people nowadays spend too much time on their phones. All this time online is supposedly going to bring our society to ruin, melt our brains, turn us into slaves of evil robots — pick your Armageddon ending. While I do concede that having too much of anything can turn out badly, is all screen time bad though?

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Ribe: A lesson on Vikings and Hygge
europe · the mom life · travel

Ribe: A lesson on Vikings and Hygge

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Since we were gluttons for punishment, we set off for another long road trip, barely a week after we had our first international excursion with our 7-month old son. This time, we were off to the north to Ribe, the oldest existing town in Denmark, founded in the early 8th century.

To be honest, I wouldn’t know the difference between 8th century history from 18th century history, but I do know a charming old town when I see one. The drive through the fields was utterly soothing, although my husband didn’t really appreciate the very low speed limit (As for me — yay, somewhere I could drive!).

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To Vancouver, A Letter
north america · the mom life · travel

To Vancouver, A Letter

ishg1 Comment

Dear Vancouver,

You are utterly unfair. How dare you have beautiful beaches, after already laying claim to one of the most bewitching mountain views I’ve ever seen while standing in the middle of a city?!

That’s all.

Love, Ish.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I’m going to use the rest of this post now to absolutely gush all over Vancouver.

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Baby Meets the Flip Side in Toronto
north america · the mom life · travel

Baby Meets the Flip Side in Toronto

ishg2 Comments

I haven’t seen anyone from my side of the family in over a year, and it was starting to show. Me throwing jealous looks as my husband jokes around with his siblings around the dinner table, me counting all the holidays I haven’t spent Filipino-style, me insisting to follow the lone Filipino food truck I’ve found around food festivals. Of the 10 years I’ve spent living abroad, I have never been homesick — that is, until now. Maybe it’s all those postpartum mommy hormones that are to blame, but I was now reaching new levels of brooding, and it wasn’t pretty.

Maybe that’s why I was desperately counting down to May 10, like I was gasping for air after holding my breath for so long. It was the day we were to fly to Toronto, for my then 6-month old baby, Tobias, to finally meet the Filipino side of the family for the first time. Continue reading “Baby Meets the Flip Side in Toronto” →

Lessons Learned From Our Baby’s First Long-Haul Flight
gibberish · north america · the mom life · travel

Lessons Learned From Our Baby’s First Long-Haul Flight

ishg1 Comment

It’s every flyer’s dreaded sight: that parade of babies through the priority boarding queue, threatening to crush any dream of peaceful sleep during the flight. I confess, I used to cringe whenever I would see a family with a baby settling within a 10-row radius from my seat.

Now, I find myself on the other side, the bringer of the ominous boarding infant. I braced myself long and hard, and obsessed with every detail to prepare ourselves for Tobias’ first long-haul flight. I even dressed him up in an adorable tiger onesie, to make it at least a bit impossible to stay angry even if he makes a scene. Continue reading “Lessons Learned From Our Baby’s First Long-Haul Flight” →