First-time in Legoland Malaysia: from toy blocks to theme park

Lego is a global brand that is popular with children and adults alike. This popular toy blocks that are being put together trace its roots from Denmark and has made its way all over the world for over 80 years. Now, the Lego brick builds not just a small house but a whole theme park! …

First-time in River Wonders & Singapore Zoo: animal encounters

The Mandai Wildlife Reserve, composed of the Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Night Safari and Bird Paradise, offers visitors a captivating journey through wildlife and conservation. The Singapore Zoo, known for its immersive and naturalistic exhibits, showcases a vast array of animals from around the world, providing an up-close encounter with species like orangutans, tigers, and …

Your Story: Tips on Making a Family Trip for All Ages to London

Holidaying with your parents and kids is a dream, which you may want to fulfill. Going on a vacation with your whole family serves two purposes. First, it creates beautiful memories for you to cherish for a long time. Second, the bonds between the family members are strengthened as you plunge into the fun quotient …

Your Story: Tips for First-time Travelers to Spain

Everyone loves to go on holiday and enjoy themselves for a week or two, forgetting all of the stress and hassle at home. Discovering a new place I have never been before is a feeling that I have always loved. I really like the smells, sounds and people that I meet when traveling. Somehow, it …

“One Year Lived” free e-book

I get a lot of propositions in my First-time Travels e-mail every now and then. I read through them all and choose which best suits my interest and my blog’s theme. Recently, I received a message from a memoirist and traveler, Adam Shepard. He is one of those who are bold enough to leave the …

Farewell LP from a Blogsherpa

For almost three years I have become part of Lonely Planet’s Blogsherpa Program, until recently when Lonely Planet has decided that the program has finally come to the end of the road. An e-mail that arrived in our inbox brought questions, more than answers, to us. Although we were saddened by the turn of events, …

The Nutcracker at the Manila Hotel

Giant Nutcracker soldiers filing at the sides, wreaths hanging on the wall, candy canes set on table centerpieces – all these now fill the grandoise lobby of the Manila Hotel, bringing the Christmas spirit to every guest that enters its doors. At the end of the august hall is a Christmas tree with the Sugar Plum Fairy sitting on top of …

Travel Survival through Language

It was midnight. My friend and I found ourselves at a bus station in Kuala Lumpur. We missed our flight to Langkawi so we opted to head to our destination by an overnight land trip. As we got off our taxi, we were surrounded by men who were trying to book us in one of …

First-time to Use a FlyGrip

I excitedly opened a package that came on my door step a few days ago. My sample of the latest FlyGrip has arrived! If I’m not mistaken, I must be one of the, if not THE, first to have it here in the Philippines. It was launched only in January 2012 in the United States, …

Travel to Learn English

I recently read this infographic on learning English at the Kaplan International website. Infographic via the KIC Blog. The data is interesting. One of the reasons why foreigners prefer to travel to the Philippines is that majority of the Filipinos can easily converse in English. In fact, there are many Asians, Koreans in particular, who …

Masskara Festival

Behind Masskara’s Smile: The beginnings of MassKara Festival

I was eight years old and I was standing in front of my mother’s office right across the city plaza watching with awe the crowd gathered along the side walk. I squeezed my tiny head in between two adults so I could get a glimpse of the MassKara Festival parade and street dancing. Men and …

Dreaming of Oia

It was only a small writing assignment that needed a little bit of research but it bloomed into a hunger to explore the world and find my way into this ultimate dream destination someday. I was working in a PR firm and I was writing an article on the special SMS service of a client. One of …

First-time in the PyroMusical Competition

I have watched several fireworks display before — be it during the New Year celebrations, festivals, or the weekend mall attractions. Yet, the 2012 Philippine International PyroMusical Competition seemed to have gotten the best of me. It’s the 3rd time that the Philippines is doing this competition, bringing in the fireworks makers from countries around …

Shopping in Bangkok

Bangkok is the first city outside my own country that I have ever visited. Now, it’s the most-visited city for me. Although shopping is not really at the top of my agenda when visiting Bangkok, I couldn’t help but put it on my itinerary. For those who are after cheap commodities, from clothes and apparel …

First-time in Chiang Mai’s markets

I was in the plane this morning en route to Bangkok, Thailand. The people at the other side of my aisle were chatting, asking questions about each other. Of course, one question was on where the other was heading. The Australian lady told the Filipino guy that she and her friend were off to Chiang …