We slept with the drapes drawn wide open, offering a full view of the city’s main avenue—lamplight and car headlights reflecting off its rain-slicked streets. The Capitol building, seen from our window, quietly resting beneath a drizzling Iloilo sky. By the time I awoke, fully rested and ahead of my wife and kid, the scene had changed. Soft morning light filtered gently through Days Hotel’s translucent curtains; the rain had passed, and the city was beginning to wake. I dressed quickly, excited for a morning walk along the nearby River Esplanade—ready to be embraced once more by the City of Love.

DAYS HOTEL ILOILO

I stayed at Days Hotel Iloilo several years back during an Iloilo–Antique media tour that extended all the way to Guimaras and Boracay—days spent with a budding romance, a crazy whirlwind that now feels like a lifetime ago. Today, I return with the same person—now my wife—and our young son in tow. No longer traveling with a heavy backpack, we now carry two suitcases. Say hello to our new chapter of travelling.

➤ SEE: BORACAY TRAVEL GUIDE

Coming from a Hida Furukawa day tour, we decided to go back to our hotel—Mercure Hida Takayama—to freshen up before continuing to the famous Takayama Old Street. And while BG was busy inside the toilet and Kid A on the TV, I decided to pass the time watching the trains at the back of the hotel—our balcony directly overlooks the tracks.

SUNSET FROM OUR BALCONY IN MERCURE HIDA TAKAYAMA

I quickly forgot about the trains as I parted the drapes, the sun was lighting the town of Takayama and the nearby mountains with its majestic rays. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped the most beautiful sunset we’ve had in Japan yet.

We were on the second half of our Nagoya Tour. Taking a three-hour long bus ride from Takayama, we arrived at Travelodge Nagoya Sakae early in the afternoon. Hauling two medium-sized suitcases, a camera bag, and a toddler with more energy than an Energizer bunny, I quickly plopped down on Travelodge’s comfy sofa while the wife, BG, and our friend, MM, sorted out our reservations.

We just had bowls of delicious curry mee—that’s just how it is when in Penang—and it was almost evening when we wended our way back to our hotel. Located right in the midst of George Town, warm lights now illuminate its handsome colonial façade, contrasting beautifully with the electric hues of early twilight. The George Penang, indeed lives up to its name, it really does look gorgeous.

“How much?” I asked my wife in disbelief for the second time, unable to believe just how affordable the hotel she booked in Zamboanga City is for our trip. “820 pesos a night at Two Seasons Executive Suites.” She replied for the second time. Unbelievable. Less than a thousand pesos for a room for us three, complete with an en suite toilet and bath. And the hotel name sounds expensive, is it really one of Zamboanga City’s budget hotels? Two Seasons! Suites! I kept wondering what the catch was.

Ever since taking our son to BGC High Street in Taguig for a brief dinner some months back, we’ve always thought of bringing him back for a longer period. We saw just how happy he was with all the open spaces and the activities he can do around. A staycation would be perfect, we thought.

“Go and say good morning to your friends, A.” So goes our usual morning conversation with our two-year old son as we exit our room to have breakfast. Those said friends aren’t from the Team RH crew—who also flew to Boracay, the moment they learned we were there—but the Ferra Hotel & Garden Suites Boracay’s staff, who have genuinely became our son’s friends while on the island.

Straight from East Timor, we flew back to Bali for a couple of days before taking another flight to Singapore. It’s the third country for our SEA2Africa two-month summer trip, and why Singapore? Well, next to Malaysia, we love Singaporean food! Plus, after almost a month of traveling, we’re hankering for the comfort of a first-world country—spell, fast food.

YOTEL SINGAPORE ALONG ORCHARD ROAD

So, we’re spending four days on this leg of our trip and our lodging of choice is YOTEL Singapore. YOTEL? The name sounds cool, indeed. Tucked on one of the quieter parts of the bustling Orchard Road, the hotel is sleek and very modern. It has branches in London, Boston, Amsterdam, and New York, and this is the first one to open in Asia.

“The first thing we’re gonna do when we arrive in Kuala Lumpur is to have a plate of our favorite Malaysian noodle dish, mee goreng!” I excitedly told C as our plane touched down on KLIA 2’s tarmac. We arrived at Malaysia’s capital city at three in the morning, checking in at the Dorsett Kuala Lumpur for two nights. My noodle craving was still in full effect, it has been years since I had one, but when we opened the doors to our hotel room, the pull of the bed seemed much stronger than my tummy’s cravings. We slept.

We stayed on a single hotel during our five-day stint in Zamboanga City, the Marcian Garden Hotel along Gov. Camins Road. It was actually my first time to stay on an actual hotel in the city, having previously lodged on a military camp during our quick tour in Zamboanga years back.

BREAKFAST BUFFET AT MARCIAN GARDEN HOTEL

From the airport, which was just three hundred meters away, we went straight to the hotel for breakfast. They have an everyday buffet. And while the selections aren’t that many, they make up for it with quality—all the dishes I tried were really good.

It was way past midnight when we arrived at Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast. A few hours ago, we’re baby sitting at G’s crib in Ballina, trying extremely hard to put L to sleep at their living room sofa, and now we’re on a totally different kind of living room, one seventeen stories up from the street, with a full view of the raging pacific from a floor to ceiling window. It was swanky as heck, but we miss L.

Similar to our previous lodging, Byron Bay Hotel and Apartments, we had to check ourselves in by following the email instructions given by Rhapsody Resort—input a code on a deposit box outside the lobby, take our key, access the lobby, then our room. Problem was we had a hard time finding the said box. It turned out we were at the wrong entrance, lol.

Following our quick tour of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where we got to see koalas and kangaroos, we drove—or rather, our friend G, drove us to her hometown of Byron Bay. We’re planning on staying here for a night before moving to Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast.

BYRON BAY HOTEL & APARTMENT

It was past sundown when we arrived in our lodging, Byron Bay Hotel & Apartments, checking out the historic Byron Bay Lighthouse first, which sits on a majestic promontory overlooking Tallows Beach, before finally settling down.

It was way past our bedtime, but since our blogger friend, J of Lakwatserong Tsinelas, has just arrived in Sydney to join us for a few days, we thought of having a few pints of beer on the many happening bars around the city before calling it a night. We literally walked high and low along the city’s hilly roads, only to be turned away every single time because we were wearing slippers. Apparently, most bars, if not all, in Sydney doesn’t allow such in their establishments—you can walk in shirtless and get in, as long as you’re wearing shoes. We walked back to our hotel, dry and mildly bemused.

After spending two nights on the most affordable lodging we could find in town, Sydney Central Inn, we transferred to a more upscale hotel at Sydney’s CBD as a wedding gift. Rydges World Square fitted our bill, not too expensive by Australian standards, and still within the heart of the city. The best part was, it’s literally two minutes by foot from our first lodging.

Raining, it was always raining. It was almost midnight as we splashed through the wet sidewalks of Asakusa, avoiding puddles and hugging ourselves against the one-digit coldness of the evening. We arrived at Senso-ji Temple, surprised to see the oldest Buddhist temple this side of Tokyo sans the usual throng of picture-takers. It was almost more than four years since I went here alone one rainy morning; it’s still raining now, but this time, I have friends to share the downpour with.

WE BOOKED OUR VARIOUS TRAIN TICKETS VIA KLOOK

Scoring an unbelievably cheap flight to Tokyo via Cebu Pacific, we arrived in Narita Airport all excited and pumped up. We were rarin’ to go but we still have to redeem our Klook vouchers for 4G Simcards (PHP882.00, 3GB good for eight days) we would use to surf the net while in Japan, Tokyo Skyliner train tickets (PHP990.00, one way) which we would use for the ride from the airport to the city, and most importantly our Unlimited Tokyo Subway Pass (starts at PHP382.00 for a one day pass)—this one is heaven sent, traveling around Tokyo is expensive, but with this, it became a lot cheaper. Like really, a whole lot. It was a breeze booking all these prior to our trip, we just fired up our Klook app on our phone, and it was easy as saying arigato gozaimasu.

Customized Machuca tiles spread across the floor while wrought iron railings flourish along the interior balconies overlooking the central atrium of the lobby. On hand-crafted wooden tables, metal sculptures sit, looking eternally at guests making their way to and fro. Entering Herald Suites Polaris, it was as if we were transported to a time past when arts and crafts were all the rage and things were a lot more elegant than the ascetic modern times that we were in.

HERALD SUITES POLARIS IN POBLACION, MAKATI

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon when we headed out—first to binge on authentic Japanese cuisine at Hatsu Hana Tei in Makati, and second, for a staycation at the newest hotel this side of Poblacion, Herald Suites Polaris.

It was two in the morning and the lobby was completely deserted. Time, indeed, flies when you’re having fun. Just a couple of hours ago, we were at the highest rooftop bar in the city, enjoying cold drinks and swapping travel stories on one corner of Seda Vertis North’s open-aired roof deck. And now, I’m totally woozy and needing a bit of a breather before going back to my room—it was already way, way past midnight. Not really the best time to be going home, especially when you’re on a staycation with your mom.

AFTERNOON VIEW OF QUEZON CITY FROM SEDA VERTIS NORTH

Seda Vertis North is one of the newest hotels that have sprouted in Quezon City. While most of the luxury accommodations in the city are located on the Timog part of town, this one’s situated somewhere easier to access, right beside the Trinoma Mall where the MRT North Station is. It can’t get any easier than that.

It was thirty minutes to midnight when we arrived at Taal Vista Hotel’s front porch and there’s a chill in the weather, typical of evenings in Tagaytay. Tired from dodging the weekend traffic and the long drive from Manila, we mightily slumped ourselves on the comfy couches littering the lounge. A singer was crooning out sonnets for long lost loves and a fire was quietly smoldering at the fireplace. Some minutes later, a menagerie of food were slid on our table. Welcome to Tagaytay, it said.

TAAL VISTA TAGAYTAY’S ICONIC FACADE

Taal Vista Hotel is one of the pioneer Tagaytay City accommodations. Its history dates all the way back to the end of the thirties when then President Quezon expressed his desire to develop the area as a tourist destination. Eventually, the same guys that did Manila Hotel constructed a Tudor-inspired lodging on a ridge overlooking Taal Volcano.

There really wasn’t any particular reason why we booked an immediate flight to Cebu City. There was no long weekend. There weren’t any festivals happening. No one was celebrating any birthday that we have to attend in. There wasn’t anything. Together with a few friends visiting from Singapore and Australia, we just felt like going there. No plans. No itineraries. No nothing. Just us, and a couple of days’ worth of clothes.

Everything happened fast. Too fast. After a drunken debauchery of a weekend in Boracay with the same gang. We felt we needed to bring our mess to the Queen City of the South. After hurried flight bookings and rebookings, and a quick scan for the cheapest, but still decent, hotel in Cebu. We’re all set.

Three of us touched down at the Mactan International Airport just before the clock struck twelve midnight, while another went earlier. Our last two companions came the morning after; the hastily drawn circle, completed.

It was an hour before midnight when we arrived on the island. Tired but excited, we went straight to our appointed lodging in Ferra Premier Boracay to rest a bit before heading to the White Beach to party our first night away. Or that was supposedly the plan.

FERRA HOTEL’S TASTEFULLY DECORATED LOBBY

It has always been like this for our Boracay weekend getaways; take the Friday afternoon flight from Manila, arrive early evening at the Kalibo Airport, then take the two-hour ride to Boracay. It is tiring, but heck, with very cheap flight tickets, who could say no to Boracay!

With intuition as tool, we roamed the evening roads of Hue, looking for its crown jewel, the Imperial Citadel—the country’s former seat of power before modern Vietnam. And finally after an hour or so of dodging motorcycles, with cameras aimed, we came face to face with what we came to this old city for.

TAKING THE BUS FROM HOI AN TO HUE

Coming from the ancient town of Hoi An, it took a three-hour bus ride before we arrived on our third stop for the Vietnam leg of our Same Same Summer Trip, Hue. Using the very convenient hop-on hop-off bus from Sinh Tourists, we alighted late in the afternoon right beside the Perfume River, one of the things Hue is known for, and proceeded on foot towards our lodging.