I prepared a list of what to bring to Hong Kong 2 years before I booked a flight. That's how fired up I am for my Hong Kong trip. Who wouldn't? If you're someone like me who prophesized about visiting Hong Kong in 10 years, you understand how it feels. Let's talk more about that in a separate post because this will be all about what I packed inside my Pink 44L CabinZero Backpack.

Before I modified my list of items and booked my November trip to Hong Kong last January 2016, I did some research about the best month of the year to visit Hong Kong. Just like the Philippines, Hong Kong has a very hot summer, and some rainy season, but it also has a cold season! Since I'm also looking forward to visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, it'll be disappointing if I get wet when it starts raining as I go on some rides. The month of November has few rainy days and it's starting to get colder as it nears December. This was the best month for me!

Packing Less

If you read my post about Packing for 3 days in Thailand, you probably didn't know I kinda overpacked. It didn't mean I packed a lot of stuff that made my bag reach the carry-on limit, but there was stuff in there which I didn't use during the whole trip and a couple of items I could do without. For the sake of #OOTD, my backpack felt overpacked. My Hong Kong trip was only for 4 days, a day shorter than Thailand.

Clothes / Undergarments / Footwear

Minimizing the number of clothes I would be bringing meant that I have a slighter increase of encounter an outfit problem. I could accidentally get my shirt dirty and may need another shirt to wear. Having extras for these sort of problem is something I am proud of myself. I didn't want to be in a dilemma of not having an emergency outfit. But for this trip, I'm trying out a way to this problem. I set aside an allowance for outfit problems. In case this happens, I could just buy something new to wear in Hong Kong.

• Chambray
• 2 T-Shirt
• Gray Cardigan
• Blue Jeans (which was not added in the photo)
• Sleeping Shirt
• Black Lounge Pants for sleeping
• 2 Cami Tanks. Black one has built-in bra
• 5 underwear
• 3 ankle socks

When thinking of Bohol, I can see two things only: Chocolate Hills and Tarsier, the smallest primate on Earth. These two have been repeatedly shoved into my brain during classes when I was younger. After visiting Mt. Pinatubo last year, I'm pretty happy going to places which were only pictures in textbooks.

Bohol is a very small island with few major tourist attractions that can be traveled in one day only. You could go around the island to visit these places or just head over to their white sand beaches which most foreigners like. Our two days was split for these two agendas. Social Studies Field Trip and a Beach Getaway.

Now the best way to travel around, as a group, in Bohol is hire a van. The driver will be waiting for you at the pier. It's best if you will inform them about your arrival time, when you are already on route to Bohol island and when you arrive. I get a little bit OC with stuff like these.

We arrived in Bohol from Cebu around 9am and decided we should do the tour first before going to our hotel to leave our stuff. Besides, we only have a backpack with clothes for a 2-day trip. Our van still has a big space for our things. Starting your day in Bohol should be invested on touring destinations, especially if you accommodation for the night is pretty far from the pier or any tourist destination on your itinerary.

Pouring out all information and thoughts about all the places in one single post makes me feel really uncomfortable. I might get the feeling I need to be short and direct with what I write or end up with a long post. Writing a long post drains me out completely.  I've decided to make a separate post for each destination, including the sweet little Inn we stayed for the night.

Long River Cruise Floating Resto Restaurant

The amazing and non-amazing thing about eating your lunch while cruising in the Loboc river accompanied with some side entertainments.

Chocolate Hills

What you Googled might be a bit different from what you will see. A few helpful tips before heading off to get a good view of the scenery.

Butterfly Farm

The entertaining tour around the small Butterfly farm. The scenic little garden. Why it can be disappointing on a rainy day.

Man-made Forest

A very life threatening place to get that decent group jump and solo squat photo on the road.

Tarsier Conservation

A crowded place for a small number of tarsiers with their bodyguards. If I were a tarsier here, I'd feel pretty much like a free prisoner.

Hanging Bridge

That long bridge made from bamboo. Wobbly knees will make you end up swimming in the river.

Acacia Sunset Valley Inn

Affordable room for which can fit more than 10 people and sleep comfortable at night! With a pool for anyone in the Inn.

Alona Beach

White sand beach populated with commercial establishments for different nationalities like Mexican, Korean, Thai, American, etc.

"I constructed this temple in the year 2012 A.D. as a symbol of my undying love for and ceaseless devotion to Leah Villa Albino-Adarna, my wife of 53 years. I adopted an architectural and structural design that can withstand time and still be appreciated for a millennium so this Temple will become a landmark of Cebu where future generations of the Adarna clan coming from her can come and trace their roots and heritage. All her lifetime collections are showcased in the 24 chambers of this Temple principally for the members of our family who cherish her memory.

May this Temple serve as a symbol of a great love of a husband to his very loving wife."

- Teodorico S. Adarna

No, Leah is not a Goddess or some sort of Divine Being of the Philippine Culture, but to one man, she is.


The idea of building something like this for a deceased loved one had always been amazing for me as a kid. Ever since I heard about the Taj Mahal, I always considered it as the greatest way of showing your devotion to someone. But as I grew up, it wasn't such a big deal for me. They had a huge amount of income to do something as big as this. It's not much effort for some. Nevertheless, I'm still happy the Adarna family built this place. It will serve as a new tourist attraction for some, and a place where their clan can gather in the years ahead. The Temple wasn't just for Leah, it was for the whole Adarna clan.


I love visiting Temple of Leah from time to time to see what had been worked on from time to time. The Adarna family started building this temple last 2012, but it's still under construction up to now. The 24 chambers are currently being built under the temple, so you really won't expect from it for now. Maybe after a year or two, I'll come back to check it out. I'm excited to see what collections they place on exhibit.

Things to do in Temple of Leah

How to get there

What to bring and the Entrance Fee

Warnings to families with minors

Nude statues everywhere! Families with minors, it's your choice if you want to bring your kids here or not, but be warned. Although there are no sexual images around, almost all of the statues are literally exposed. A male statue, which is still under construction, has been given an aroused... You get the idea.

Last January, I went to Bangkok, Thailand with 5 other friends. It was my first out of the country trip. I never expected the difference between interacting with foreigners staying in the Philippines and actually being a foreign land left a big impression on me.

Packing for Thailand; Shopping in Thailand

I talked about what I packed for Thailand in a separate post and it looked like I overpacked. My little sister told me to do some massive shopping when I get to Thailand. She learned from other people that clothes were cheaper than the ones sold in the mall here in Cebu. The cloth used would be better. Most of the ones sold at the malls here are from Thailand. Fancy blouses were sold for around 100 -200 Baht per item. If you buy 2 or more, you can haggle. If you buy 5 pieces of the same blouse, you can have each item for as 60 Baht each! 1 Baht is equal to 1.36 Php (May 4, 2016, rate). Pretty cheap huh. If you like fancy clothes, try to bring an empty backpack if you go to Thailand. Just bring some clothing allowance and you come back home with new outfits. As for me, I'm more of a cotton shirt person. I'd rather shop for weird snacks in Thailand.

The Platinum Fashion Mall is a haven for girls who like to shop for cute outfits. There are a lot of little stores on every floor and it was really crowded when we got there. If you decide to come here with your friends, make sure you decide on a place where to meet up later on. Anyone can easily get lost here.

Language barrier can be intimidating

The biggest challenge we experience while roaming around was the language. Good thing our friend's cousin (a Filipino) speaks a bit of Thai and his girlfriend is a Thai who speaks good English. We had a translator with us. Google translate was available, but it's not very accurate. On our last day, I traveled solo going to a mall which I fancied during our first day in Thailand. Transportation was not a problem since it was only one bus away back and forth from our hotel. The problem was telling the bus conductor where I am going. Lucky for me, I took a photo of the mall when we went there before and that was all the conductor needed to know to issue me the correct ticket. Going back to our hotel was another problem. I forgot to take a picture of where our hotel was. I told her the location. She didn't understand me. I tried to speak a little Thai. No luck there. I showed the location on Google Map. She still looked confused. In the end, she waved her hand at me and pointed to the exit of the bus. I willingly exited the bus. It was the correct bus and I started to become worried. Good thing, the next bus knew how to read Google Map. Some Thai feel bad about not being able to understand Thai. Instead of trying hard to understand you, they will act snobbish towards you. That's why most Thai become really happy and relieved when you try your best to learn their language.

Thai Greeting

Thai greetings often involved a wai, pressing your palms together at chest or nose level while bowing slowly. If you're a foreigner who does this Thai greeting to any Thai, they will be very happy seeing you try to do something very familiar to them. You can even accompany Sawadee ka (women) or Sawadee khrap (men) while doing the wai. Want to thank you, but you don't know the words? Do it with a wai. Forgot the word for goodbye or see ya? Do the wai. Don't forget to smile, though. Even mascots like McDonalds do the wai.

Respect the King. Respect Thai bills and coins

You can be imprisoned by stepping on a Thai Baht paper bill or coin. Why? Because the beloved King is on the bill and coin. This information has been stated on every blog about Thailand. Our friend's cousin even told us this information on our first day. Dropping a coin or a paper bill will make Thai heads turn to you. That's what I noticed when one of our friends dropped a coin. Aside from being careful about how you handle Thai Baht, make sure you don't make any negative comment about the King's photos either. Better yet, don't make any comment.

Religion plays a big role in Thai Culture

Mini Shrines decorated with gold ornaments and other fancy items are found everywhere you go. Tourist planning to purchase Buddha items for souvenir purposes is prohibited. When you go the temples, you will see posters informing people Buddha items are sacred and are only bought for spiritual purposes.

Coupons and Cards are used for purchasing food at malls and food courts

Food courts are the best way to experience cheap Thailand cuisine. The first food court we visited was during lunch IT City. There is a booth near the food court where you exchange your Baht for paper coupons. These coupons are then exchanged at the food stalls for food. Unused coupons are returned to the booth to be exchanged for Baht again. Our 2nd food court experience was at Terminal 21. I guess bigger malls use cards instead of coupons.

7/11 can be found on every corner 

This is probably the only place I trust when it comes to purchasing quick snacks, drinks, and essentials items. Sim cards and load can also be bought here, in case you need one for mobile data when finding a wifi spot becomes tough. Before leaving for the airport at dawn, I stopped by here to check out what their microwave foods are and shopped for weird Thailand snacks.

Food is extremely cheap in Thailand. Look at those microwave food at 7/11!

Spicy Thai food is best paired with Milk Tea

For good reason. You can't live without it when you underestimate Thai spice. The spice they have are not a laughing matter. One of our friend who loves Korean spicy food couldn't tolerate the strength of Thailand spices. Milk tea can be found in any food court.

Since we're already talking about food, I'd like to add that their street BBQ is rather different from the Philippines. Seafood BBQ with really big portions of some aquatic animal!

Bottled and canned drinks come with a straw

Don't be surprised if you buy a bottled water from 7/11 and you are automatically given a straw. Almost every kind of drink comes with one. They would be more surprised if you try to drink it straight out of the bottle. Rude or not, it's cool to try a different way of drinking.

BTS Sky Train from the Airport

The best bit of transportation information I learned from Thailand is the existence of the BTS Skytrain which is connected to Suvarnabhumi Airport and anywhere in Bangkok. If you just arrived in Thailand, go to the lower part of the airport and you will find the Sky Train.

Scams and Pickpockets exists

Before our trip, I read about scams in Thailand. The most known scam was a Thai person would tell a tourist the temple is closed, but he will offer to be a guide for another temple in exchange for some money. We didn't encounter anyone like that, but we experience something similar with a Tuktuk.

After visiting the Grand Palace, we wanted to go to Khao San Road. Not familiar with the place, we asked a TukTuk driver how to get there. He offered to take us there for 100 Baht per person. That was absurd. Khao San Road was somewhere near the Grand Palace and there's no way it can be that expensive. Good thing we decided to decline and relied on Google Map. It took us a few minutes of walking and checking the map. It was indeed very near to the Grand Palace.

Markets have sign boards for warning people that pickpockets are rampant in their area which added to my fear while traveling alone during our last night.

Do I want to go back to Thailand?

Of course, I do! The next time I would visit Thailand, I have to make sure I only bring a few clothes and a nice pair of walking shoes. We may not have fully explored Thailand, but experiencing a different environment was really awesome. My first international travel was really worth it.

This was my first International travel and I wanted to have a carry on backpack only. We would arrive in Bangkok, Thailand before midnight of January 29 and by February 2 , we would be back in the Philippines. That’s 5 whole days. Technically just 3 days in Bangkok, Thailand, and a day in Manila, Philippines.

Months before our scheduled flight, I had to research about Bangkok’s weather, culture, food, and health.

Thailand is mostly hot. Hotter than Cebu, Philippines. As a person who sweats easily, I had to ponder heavily on what types of clothes I will bring. I needed shirts that let cool air in easily. Clothes that are easy to dry. Clothes that, as much as possible, don’t obviously show it’s already soaked on some areas.

Tap waters and some street foods aren’t safe. I have a tendency to have diarrhea on special days and I needed to find a way to  stop this, but I also wanted to eat street foods! Travel blogs and Thailand expats pointed tap water is not safe.

Mosquitoes are everywhere. Even here in our country. Not sure about how dangerous their mosquitoes are in Thailand. Most travel blogs I read also noted how important mosquito repellents are.

Not everyone can speak or understand English. This is a tough one. I had to figure out a way to communicate to the locals when I get lost.

Wear modest clothes when visiting Temples. Covered shoulders and ankles for everyone. No sleeveless shirts. No short skirts or shorts. No fitting jeans. No see through maxi skirts. Covered toes. As a tourist, might as well follow these rules as a sign of respect for its country’s temples.


By the end of 2015, I had everything planned for my daily outfits for a typically hot weather. On January, Bangkok's temperature dropped to 17.5-degree celsius which was pretty unusual for the country. Jackets became a fashion trend. Some parts of Thailand experienced snow. I began changing my packing list to take into account cold days. Luckily, before January 29, the temperature become normal again.

Gadgets / Accessories

• Day Pack
• Sling Pouch for easy access to a few coins and notes while walking
• Notebook
• Pen
• Passport
• IDs
• Photocopies of passport and IDs
• Lock
• Fully charged power bank
• Earphones
• Smartphone with Google Map, Google Translate, and mp3 recordings of important Thai Phrases.

Toiletries