July 2017

Browsing Date

On Our Way to Manila (Not Fame or Fortune)

Lifestyle, Travel By angkulet July 24, 2017 Tags: motherhood, Norwegian Air, parenting, Scoot, Singapore Airlines, Tiger Air, travel, Turkish Airlines No Comments

At least that’s what the website of FlyScoot informed me as I was booking our flights from Bangkok to Manila with a short lay over in Singapore. In Singapore, Lia would have to get off at Changi to meet her other father to spend eight days with him this summer as part of our agreement that he gets to spend a minimum of 30 days per year with her, depending of course, on his availability, travel plans, business meetings, and over-all career. After this short lay over, I then proceed to Manila alone.

Lia would then be flown in to Manila after eight or so days by her own father, where she would be reunited with me, and from Manila, she and I together will take the return flight to Torino then to Sardegna via Turkish Airlines and Meridiana. Such is the complex life of an eight-year old child with Filipino parents whose marriage has been annulled and are living in different parts of the world.

Our Best Summer Yet

Family, Life In Italy By angkulet July 15, 2017 Tags: family, Italy, Poldo, San Teodoro, Sardegna No Comments

This is turning out to be a summer that I am immensely enjoying – in stark contrast to my previous summers in Sardegna, marked by countless packing and unpacking of bags as I struggled to remain in a positive mood, enough to last three months, in an island where I did not speak the language, and transportation was limited.

Perhaps it is largely because of my recent adoption of a dog that found me on the street. For months, I truly knew I needed one. Despite my best efforts in adopting one from a shelter, it was met with a number of disappointments and not a few times of crying outbursts that lasted through the night.

These days I look forward to waking up in the morning. I do my stretches while I wait for my coffee.I give our adopted cat and dog their morning meals before sitting to enjoy the cool morning and my black Illy or Lavazza coffee. Afterwards, my Maremma-Golden Retriever mix of a dog that I had named Poldo, and I go on our hour-long morning walks to nearby beaches. Aside from helping me get fit, these quiet walks make for great time for reflection, and planning the rest of the day. Or I go on my Duolingo app to achieve my daily goal of 100 XP or more, improving my Italian or learning French. I am having the time of my life.

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (March 2016)

Australia, Queensland, Travel By angkulet July 13, 2017 Tags: Australia, Byron Bay, Coolangatta airport, friends, Gold Coast, Nerang River, Surfer's Paradise, travel, Vibe Hotel No Comments

It was our last day in Australia and we were taking a direct flight from the Coolangatta airport to Changi. I was going to pick up Lia then fly back to Manila with her while Fabio was taking a connecting flight back to Turin. I went to the nearby shops to buy some make up that was requested by a friend, and for the first time, found the shop that is Typo, and subsequently fell in love with it. I will always love Typo and wish they would have shops in Europe.

We made plans to have dinner with a friend of mine from El Nido who married an Australian and living in the city. We did not make it in time for dinner though but managed to visit them at their home. We had good times over drinks and tapas. We also made a promise to come back and stay longer next time.

We had lunch and drinks by the beach the next day before packing, checking out of the hotel, and being picked up by our Uber driver in a Chrysler.

Byron Bay and Coastal Road Trip, New South Wales, Australia (March 2016)

Australia, New South Wales, Travel By angkulet July 9, 2017 Tags: Australia, Broken Head, Byron Bay, East Ballina, Lennox Head, New South Wales, Pat Morton Lookout, Skennars Head, Suffolk Park, travel No Comments

We decided to take a road trip from the cape down the coast all the way to Ballina. The coast was full of interesting beaches, some with expansive pure white sand while some were filled with boulders.

There were interesting lookouts and small seaside villages.

Lennox Head is a seaside village on the stretch of coast between Byron Bay and Ballina in Ballina Shire local government area with a population of 7,340 (2011 census) while Skennars Head is closer to Ballina, located at an elevation of approximately 33m above sea level.

Our last stop was East Ballina and what really stood out for me was the fact that it was a Saturday evening and this town was nearly empty.

Lismore and Bangalow, New South Wales, Australia (March 2016)

Australia, New South Wales, Travel By angkulet July 7, 2017 Tags: Australia, Bangalow, Byron Bay, Lismore, New South Wales, Nimbin, travel No Comments

Bangalow is a small town with a population of 1,902. The town is 765 kilometres (475 mi) north of Sydney and 167 kilometres (104 mi) south of Brisbane, just off the Pacific Highway. With Nimbin to the west and Byron Bay to the east, Bangalow is in the centre of the counter culture.

“Bangalow is one of those country gems: a picturesque, largely nineteenth-century streetscape of tall verandahed buildings, shady trees and quiet parks. Bangalow’s historic buildings have been restored largely to their former style, retaining the wide verandahs that provide shady footpaths for al fresco dining. Restaurants, cafés, art galleries, oriental rug and antique shops now occupy the old banks and drapery stores. There is, however, still a remnant of the old country village in Bangalow, as evidenced by the CWA shop selling knitted teddies and lace doilies, the old pharmacy that retains its glass apothecary’s jars and wooden benches, and the old-fashioned hardware store.”

Nimbin, New South Wales, Australia (March 2016)

Australia, New South Wales, Travel By angkulet July 6, 2017 Tags: alternative lifestyle, Australia, Byron Bay, New South Wales, Nimbin, Nimbin Hemp Embassy, travel No Comments

Nothing prepared me for the strangeness of the village that is Nimbin, nestled in the middle of the mountains of northeastern New South Wales. In fact, I told Fabio that I wish he had told me where we were going so I could have looked it up beforehand and prepared myself for the shock of finding such a strange strip that is Nimbin.

The street starts in the middle of nowhere and ends abruptly. It is colorful, lined with emporiums, strange shops, and filled with people that in other places might have been shunned. One old man with unkempt long white hair and an equally long shaggy beard actually just dropped in the middle of the sidewalk after Fabio spoke to him, and some locals rushed to give him first aid. A father and two kids jumped out of their truck, all barefooted, and walked into a nearby shop. A lady with a nearly naked baby sat in a stool next to a shop door. A tattooed, emaciated-looking woman whispered almost to no one, “Cookies? Brownies?” as she walked by while a man sprawled on the pavement looked up to us and said, “You need anything mate?”

Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia (March 2016)

Australia, New South Wales, Travel By angkulet July 3, 2017 Tags: AirBnb, Australia, boho, Byron Bay, Cape Byron, Cape Byron Lighthouse, New South Wales, surfing, Targa Restaurant, travel 1 Comment

I wouldn’t say that Byron Bay in the northeast of New South Wales is a popular tourist destination. I have never heard of it before I found myself there. Still, Fabio said that’s where we were going because a friend of his told him it was where we should spend the longest time of our trip together and it is a wonderful place for surfing. He had only taken up surfing in Duli Beach in El Nido with my friends from Surf El Nido, and in La Union with my friends from Four A’ces Surf School, but he was already hooked.

Byron Bay is 772 kilometers north of Sydney and 165 kilometers south of Brisbane. To get there, there are three airports within 2 hours drive.

And why were we in Australia again? Because Fabio, ever since he was young had told himself he would never every get married, not even if he fathered a child. He did not believe in marriage. And yet, he wanted to complete his bucket list. Apparently he had a bucket list he wanted to complete before settling down, for this man whom I met in the middle of his travels and have been traveling for nearly half his life, was on his way home.