Zayne's First Trip

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Zayne: I wonder where we're going!

I love to travel. My Instagram and Twitter handles won’t be @dahwanderer for nothing. I spent the first half of my adult life WONDERING how it felt like to see the world. But because I was born sickly and I desperately wanted to save more money for a wedding, a car and a house, traveling needed to wait. I got really sick around 2007, and from then on, I decided to stop WONDERING and start WANDERING. I started having frequent road trips with my best friends – Subic, Baguio and the likes.

Around 2010, I had the privilege to fly to USA for an onshore assignment. My wandering feet got even itchier! Boyet and I started traveling together as soon as we got married. Most of the time, we traveled with our constant trip buddies slash best friends.

travel
travel

From having road trips, our travels got a notch higher - from on-the-spot purchases of bus tickets to always being on the lookout for airline seat sales and meticulously comparing hotel prices while reading travelers’ reviews at the same time. Nag-level up ang travel, kaya level up din ang preparations! Booking and preparing for a trip became quite tedious.

Now, almost all of my trip buddies are married. And to add spice to that, we now have a baby (Zayne) and a toddler (Skye) in tow. Once again, traveling needed to take a back seat. Aside from the babies, another reason is that nobody has the time to organize a trip. Gone are the days when we could spend hours “analyzing” what would be the best deal for plane tickets and accommodations. Fortunately, we recently discovered Traveloka!

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Consider Traveloka as an online travel agency (OTA) that provides hotels and air tickets booking. The site allows travelers to conveniently book flights and hotels in Southeast Asia. A few mouse clicks and keyboard strokes, and you are off to an adventure.

It offers competitive prices which allows travelers to get the best deals that suit their needs. No need to go from one website to another. Traveloka also brags of honest pricing so users are guaranteed of paying without any hidden charges. No more scenes like this:

Wow, SALE! 
This is destiny! 
Book ko na agad agad!
Click NEXT
Tax...
Booking fee...
Website maintenance fee...
Other eklavu fees...
Chenes chenes fees...
Voila! 
Ubos ang pera. 
Nganga! @_@

traveloka_hotelPhotos grabbed from Traveloka


So ze trip buddies and I have been planning to go to Bacolod towards the end of this year. Our Viber group has gone crazy as we discuss our plans for our first trip with the kiddos.

I’m glad that parents who love to travel now have a lot of tools to aid them in pursuing their passion. I received quite a number of negative reactions from “oldies” who found out that my husband and I wanted to go back to traveling. But I firmly believe that traveling is one of the best gifts that I can ever give to Zayne. Plus, I don’t want her to grow up thinking that learning is limited to books. There are a lot of things to learn while traveling!

My friends and I love to mix adventure and comfort when traveling. Because we have been trip buddies for years, we already know each other’s “requirements” in traveling. Joie would always prefer a hotel with a swimming pool. And my workaholic husband cannot live without an internet connection. But this will be the first time that we will be traveling with the kids so it feels like we will be going on a trip with new trip buddies with different sets of “requirements” and probably DEMANDS, too!

I have started talking to parents who have already tried traveling with kids. I am bombarding them with questions like:

How do you pack?
Do you bring a stroller, a baby carrier or both?
What do you do when a baby decides to throw tantrums in the middle of a busy tour?

So far, my fellow wanderer parents are generous enough to share some tips.

1. Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Research. Research. Research.
Gone are the days when you can go on spontaneous trips. Although it is still possible, it’s now extra challenging because you now have a child to consider.

2. Know the purpose of your trip.
Are you going on a food trip? Shopping trip? Do you want to have an adventurous or laid back trip?

3. Make sure that your itinerary is age-appropriate for your kids.
My husband and I have never been to Hongkong. Our initial plan was to go to HK for Zayne's first birthday instead of throwing her a party. But we realized that we would not be enjoying it. We can’t go on rides together, and Zayne might freak out if she sees a giant Mickey Mouse! Hahahaha!

4. Manage your expectations.
All the parents I talked to told me that the itineraries they prepared were not 100% realized. The baby decided to nap a few minutes before the scheduled tour. It started to rain before the outdoor show. The baby had a diaper leak in the middle of a food trip. These things happen so be prepared to have your plans changed at the last minute. If an unforeseen thing happens...

5. Breathe and just enjoy the ride!
After all, when traveling, it’s more important to collect memories rather that those Instagram-worthy photos.


Are you also planning for an upcoming trip? For parents, how different was it to plan for a trip when you were still single versus now that you already have kids? Do you have any tips for traveling with a baby? Please leave your comments below. We badly need tips and suggestions! Hahahaha!

And oh, in case you have already been to Bacolod, where can we find the best:
1. Chicken Inasal?
2. Napoleones?
3. Butterscotch?

Hihi!

3 comments :

  1. Yehey!!! Excited na ko sa Bacolod. Woopsie!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Traveloka sounds like a great site to get flights and accommodations. Enjoy kayo sa Bacolod! Don't forget to visit The Ruins, di pa ako nakarating doon, hahaha. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Don't forget to bring meds (Tempra, Salinase etc.). Pasigurado lang.

    ReplyDelete

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