Michi Photostory

It is really nice to travel with your family but I admit there are times that it is a challenge to travel with a kid in tow. Especially now that my son is in tweenage years, he has his own likes, wants and mind so when I was planning for our Bangkok Itinerary, he immediately said “I don’t like temples ha”. What?

Read: Why Do We Travel with Kid in Tow


Of course, I will not waste my opportunity to visit at least one temple in Bangkok so I asked other mommy bloggers for their suggestions and then I chose Wat Pho. I was contemplating if I will just book at Klook, With Locals, Hotel Tours or DIY. I mentioned before that I’m not confident in commuting and I’ve read that there are scammers at the temples so I wanted to book a package tour but in the end, I still chose DIY tour. Why? Because it is cheaper and I can explore the temples on my own time.

On our day 5, off we went to the temples. We’ve seen the temples on our first night in Bangkok. I availed Chao Phraya Princess Dinner River Cruise but of course, I want to see the temples up close. Going there is not a problem because the direction is almost the same except that we will not ride a taxi anymore.

Read: Chao Phraya Princess Dinner River Cruise 

How to Get to Chao Phraya River

From our hotel, we rode at BTS Skytrain Asok Station to BTS Saphan Taksin Station

Travel to Siam Station using BTS - Sukhumvit Line (4 stations)
Travel to Saphan Taksin using BTS -Silom Line (6 stations)
Then go to Exit 2 and follow the signs to Chao Phraya River Express Boat.
Purchase ticket a Hop On-Hop off ticket or Single Journey Ticket.

Train: THB44/person
Chao Phraya Tourist Boat:
THB50/person - Single Journey Ticket
THB180/person - One Day River Pass

You can choose the regular boat but I chose the Chao Phraya River Boat for convenience. This boat will only stop at Tourist Spots like Shopping Mall, China Town, Flower Market, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Wat Pra Kaew and Khao San Road.

The boat leaves at Sathorn and Phra Arthit every 30 minutes
Sathorn 9:00 to 17:30
Phra Arthit 9:30 to 16:00

Boat extend their routes to Asiatique
Phra Arthit 16:00 to 18:00
Sathorn 16:30 to 18:30

There is already a booth of Chao Phraya River Boat at the train station so I purchased a ticket there and when I reached Pier, the staff get my ticket and replaced with a map and printed receipt. Then we waited for the boat with Blue Flag.



My initial plan was to visit Wat Pho but the boat stopped at Wat Arun (N8 - Tha Thien). Since I only wanted to visit one temple, I did not purchase a ticket anymore so we just enjoy the beauty of the temple outside. Wat Arun or also known as Temple of the Dawn is a stunning temple in Bangkok because of the design and location. Check my Chao Phraya River Cruise post so you can see the beauty of this temple at night.





Wat Arun or Wat Chaeng
Opening Hours 8AM to 17:30
Ticket: THB50

Then we took a small shuttle boat to cross the river so we can visit Wat Pho on the opposite side. We paid THB4/person for the boat. Afterward, we walked to the temples, we just followed the crowd. Hehehe! I’m thankful that my son is still FREE, you can hire a tour guide if you want for THB200-400 depending on the number of persons.


Wat Pho or Wat Phra Chetuphon is also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. We did not waste our time, we immediately looked for the famous 15 meters tall and 46 meters long Buddha. You need to take off your shoes before you enter, don’t worry there is a ready plastic bag there where you can put your shoes. Taking a picture is hard because there are a lot of tourists. If you want some luck, donate THB20 for a bowl of coins and drop in 108 bronze bowls. Dito lang nag-enjoy anak ko sa paghulog ng coins, the rest of the day “sad face” maski sa picture. Lol This temple is also known for traditional massage and medicine so you can try that.






As much as I want to explore the whole Wat Pho temple, my son was complaining already. Ayaw na nga maglakad. So I have no choice but to end our temple tours. Sayang nga, the Grand Palace is 10 minutes away lang daw, hindi ko man lang nakita kahit sa entrance lang. We rode the small shuttle boat again so we can ride the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat at the Wat Arun side.

Watch the video here.

Wat Pho 
Opening Hours: 8:00 to 17:00
Entrance Fee: THB100 with free bottled water.

Tip: Don’t forget to bring drinks, fan, cap or extra clothes. Sa init dun, maliligo ka sa pawis. Of course, wear appropriate clothes. They say that there are tourist scammers at the temple but we did not encounter any or dahil diretso lang lakad namin. But of course, beware of scammers.

I did not regret that I chose DIY Tour. Going to the temples is not that hard, all you need to know is where are you going to buy the riverboat ticket and what station are you getting off. Once you get off the boat, just walk to the Temple, pay the entrance fee and explore.

Read: 6 Days in Bangkok with Kids
Shopping at IKEA Bangna  Klook.com

Myanmar is not on our bucket list so we really have no idea about this country. A few weeks ago, my husband told me that he might go to Myanmar and he asked me, ano bang meron don? Hehehe! 

Honestly, the only thing I know about Myanmar is the famous Hot Air Balloon in Bagan. But my husband is going to Yangon, Myanmar so I searched for this place and I said, parang puro temples don. 


There is no direct flight from the Philippines. He checked the different options and Thai Airways has a nice flight schedule. Manila to Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar. It was a long flight including the layover. 


If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know for sure that my husband doesn’t like taking pictures. So even if he’s been to different places, there are no souvenir photos. The last time I blogged about his trip was four years ago, ang tagal na nung Shanghai so now I will share some photos about his recent trip. There is a miracle, he took some photos so we can see Myanmar.  

Read: Glimpse of Shanghai, China  

Hotel in Myanmar: Taw Win Garden Hotel 

My husband stayed in Taw Win Garden Hotel which is 30 minutes away from Yangon International Airport and 10 minutes away from the city center and Shwedagon Pagoda. 

Taw Win Garden Hotel is a 4-star hotel that offers gymnasium, sauna, indoor jacuzzi, salon services, spa treatment and salon services. There are four restaurants in the hotel; Thiri restaurant, Su Chinese restaurant, K Khine Restaurant and Lobby Bar, and Lounge. 

This is the room. 




There is free wifi but the connection is very unstable hindi man lang kami makapagvideo call. When my husband was out, he could not have a good phone connection too. 

Shwedagon Pagoda

Since this is a business trip, my husband has really no time to explore the tourist spots so after 4 years, now lang ulit siya natour. After work, his officemate brought him at Shwedagon Pagoda which is few minutes from his hotel. 


You need to remember to dress conservatively when you visit pagodas, temples, and monasteries. In addition, you need to remove socks and shoes when entering religious buildings, restaurants, or even entering someone’s home.


From the parking lot, my husband was surprised because they would walk barefooted. So they left their shoes in the car and walked to Shwedagon Pagoda. This is also known as Golden Pagoda, a famous and most sacred site in Yangon.


It is 326 ft tall and made of bricks but covered with gold and the crown has gems. My husband informed me that people all over the country, rich or poor donate gold and gems to maintain the pagoda. According to his officemate, mas maganda daw sa gabi kasi may light which I’ve seen on the internet. 

Entrance Fee: 8000 kyat

Salient points to be observed by the pilgrims/visitors

1. Must not wear ladies blouse with wide or deep hives.
2. Must not wear above knee short pants and skirts.
3. Must not wear shoes.
4. Must not wear socks and stockings.


White Elephant Garden

Then they went to the White Asian Elephants. It is not the usual elephant that we see in the zoo. It is an albino elephant but mukha siyang pink elephant sa kin. Hehehe! There are three elephants here but at that time, hubby only saw two elephants. 


Some people said that this white elephant is a symbol of royal prosperity, and power and brings good luck to the country. The elephant looks like a statue maybe because they have chained in their paw so very limited movement lang.

Well, that’s it! I hope my husband will take photos again on his next trip. Hehehe! 

The currency is Burmese Kyat

Taw Win Garden Hotel 
45 Pyay Road Dagon Township, 
Yangon, Myanmar

Shwedagon Pagoda
Yangon Division,Myanmar

Four Entrances

South - Shwedagon Pagoda Road, Kandaw Min Road, Arzarni Road. 
West - U Wisara Road
North - Arzarni Road
East - Arzarni Road, Gyatawya Road

Read: Parkroyal Yangon Hotel

Five story pagoda

My initial plan is to go to Kidzania Tokyo, my son enjoyed Kidzania Manila so I’m pretty sure he will have a great time in Kidzania Tokyo. Wednesday is the perfect time to visit because half of the activities are in English, it is called English Wednesday. 

Read: Kidzania Manila

There are also English speaking staffs walking around to support and help the kids. You can visit on other days but expect that the instructions are in Japanese language and we don’t know how to read, write or speak the language so I put it on our Day 4 which is Wednesday. 

But when I checked the app, it will take 1 hour and 30 minutes train ride just to get there plus we need to transfer train. I’m not really comfortable in transferring trains because trains in Japan are very confusing. I don’t want to get lost so I research another tourist spot which is near the Tama Area. 

Good thing that Tama Monorail website has suggestion “Fun Sites”, sites that you can visit by riding Tama Monorail train. 

1. Sanrio Puroland 
2. Showa Kinen Park 
3. Takahata Fudoson 
4. Tama Zoological Park 
5. Seibu Dome 

So I replaced Kidzania Tokyo to Takahata Fudoson + Showa Kinen Park. I know that my son doesn’t enjoy temples but I told him that we will ride boat in the park after our temple visit. Hehehe! 

Side story: My son has his own bucket list in Japan, he wants to ride Shinkansen bullet train, visit Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea. I was surprised when he said Shinkansen bullet train and I asked him, where did you learn that? He said, "alam ko yan, kita ko yan sa journal/magazine then he showed me the journal. Hmm, may silbi din pala yung binabayaran kong P1300+ journals sa school. But I told him that we will not ride bullet train but we can go to Disney Sea. So he was really patient to wait for Day 5 so we can go to Disney with his dad. 

Takahata Fudoson Temple 

I was glad that we did not have any problem in commuting when we visit Tama Zoological Park and Keio Rail-Land Museum so my son and I pursue our Day 4 trip even without hubby. I activated my roaming surf again so I can update my husband.

Read: Tama Zoological Park
          Keio Rail-Land Museum

Takahata Fudoson Temple is the oldest temple in Kanto region. According to Tokyo Handy Guide, the precincts of the temple of the Shingon School of Buddhism are scattered with cultural properties such as the Fudo-do, the Nio-mon Gate, the Goju-no-to Tower (Five story pagoda), the monument of Shinsengumi and the statue of the Shinsegumi’s Vice Captain Hijikata Toshizo. 

This is open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Admission is FREE but Dainihi-do Main Hall (200 yen) and Okudono Hall (300 yen) have a fee if you want to enter. 



Directions: Walk to Tama Center Exit 1, ride Tama Monorail for Kamikitadai. Get off at Takahatafudo station (6th station from Tama Center). 20 minutes train ride. Five minutes on foot from Takahatafudo Station. 

Fare is 310 yen adult 160 yen child 

Upon getting off the train, I saw an arrow sign to turn right to Takahata Fudoson Temple and so we went down the stairs and I saw a small arc, feeling ko lang yun yung way so we walked there and I felt relieved when I saw the five story pagoda. Yey! We found it. 



Sharing with you the pictures. 

Takarawa

I saw cute little kids again, it seems that kids in Japan like exploring places. Again, teachers and kids lang ang nandun.



I also saw some group of hobbyists, they are sketching temples and nature. 



We did not stay long because my son wanted to ride the boat at the park.

Penetralia

Taishi

On our way back to the train station, I saw C&C Curry Shop again. If you’ve read my previous post, we’re supposed to eat here but I don’t know how to use the vendo. When I saw that the food vending machine was inside the restaurant, we entered the restaurant and asked help so I can place my order. The staff gladly assisted me and she showed me the menu for curry sauce, I chose mild curry.




Side story: I know that my son doesn’t eat that much so I only order 1 pork katsu and I will eat the leftover. But when the staff served the order, kinakausap na naman niya ko at tinuturo na mag-order ng food sa vendo. Hindi niya ko maintindihan na 1 order lang talaga so ending, nag-order na rin ako just to end the conversation. 

2 cups of rice yata ito per serving They are mixing the curry with their rice but we're not into curry, kung gravy ok lang.

She can’t understand me and I can’t understand her. It was our first time to eat katsu with Japanese curry. The food was good but the serving was big for our tummy so ang dami namin leftover, binalot ko na lang sa tissue yung katsu namin. Sayang ang food and it is not cheap pero dun affordable fastfood na ang C&C Curry Shop.   

Next stop is Showa Kinen Park. 

Takahata Fudoson Temple
733 Takahatafudo,
Hino-shi, Tokyo 3173 
Midori-cho, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo

Last Sunday, we went to Cebu to celebrate my birthday in advance since my birthday falls on a weekday. I was very thankful to God for hearing my prayer, there was no storm. 

After 13 long years, I was back in Cebu but this time, we only stayed for two days because my hubby can only take one day leave. Good enough because last year, his VL was denied. I really took my time to research everything so we could maximize our two days stay. I’ve got an early flight to Cebu and last flight to Manila.

Before 6AM, we arrived at Mactan Airport so we went straight to Fuente Oro Business Suites hoping that we could early check in but unfortunately the room was not yet available so we left our baggage and start our Cebu City Tour.

We rode a jeep to Basilica De Sto. Nino, our oldest church that was founded in 1565.

As early as 6AM we started our itinerary. We went to Atkinson’s Clock Tower; it is two blocks away from our lodge. In 1903, this clock was built in memory of Francis George Atkinson; it is an all wood and no nails structure which is considered as the oldest standing structure in Sabah. It survived the World War II and until now it keeps the city’s time.


Gaya Sunday Market