Us with our tour guide and his van.

Our first stop was to try to find a painting and we looked at this Korean Flea Market. This place was like a cross between Greenhills (in Manila) and a U.S. thrift store.

The USA has the White House, but Korea has the Blue House for their President.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Royal Guards with tourists at Gwanghwanum gate at Gyeongbokgung Palace

While purchasing this painting from the pictured artist, some locals walking by asked our tour guide if Matt was a Hollywood actor!

After lunch we saw these street performers doing the “Farmer’s Dance”

We went inside the Samsung showroom and had fun playing with the different interactive things on display.

We walked around the streets of Gangnam.

Gangnam Style

We walked the streets of Bukchon Hanok Village where people live in the old style Korean homes.

To end the day we went to the North Seoul Tower and looked out over the city.

We drove an hour to a Korean Folk Village where people were in costume and you could see homes to how things use to be.

Kalani crossing one of the three different kinds of bridges at the Korean Folk Village.

For lunch we stopped at a Korean BBQ restaurant and it was so good.

In Korea there are so many side dishes during meal time.

Matt wanted to hold Blake in the Moby Wrap while we walked around the South Gate Market.

A highlight of our time in Korea was visiting Baskin Robbins everyday. It took Mason a few trips before he realized that “BR” is Baskin Robbins.

We flew from Manila to Cebu. Then took this plane from Cebu to Siargao

The local grocery store

Kalinaw Resort. Our room is on the right and the kids loved that the pool was right next to our room

Kalinaw Resort at dusk. The owners have made this such a nice resort with the little details

First island to visit was “Naked Island”. Nothing there, just sand.

Second island to visit is “Dako Island”. We had a yummy lunch prepared by our resort here.

Last island to visit “Guyam Island”. Not much here, just some trees and rocks.

Traveled around the island to Magpaponko Swimming Hole during low tide.

Exploring the island of Siargao. Very quiet and peaceful place.

Our last day we met this family during low tide. The father was teaching his children how to fish.

We made it to the famous “Cloud 9” surf spot. Matt and Tia got surfing lessons and both stood up on our board. Here Tia is surfing a small wave.

We enjoyed our time at Siargao, and the staff at Kalinaw resort was a big help during our time there. They played with Blake during all of our meals and were just so pleasant.

The route we traveled in northern Luzon in 5 days. We discovered once again how beautiful this country is outside of the big city.

Our first stop was to Baler where we stayed at Coasta Pacifica. We stayed here for 2 nights and enjoyed the swimming pool, beach, having a tour of the area and getting out of the car. There were 2 routes to get to Baler and google maps recommended we take the route that goes through the mountain which tacked on 3 extra hours.

All of the kids on a surf board. This was Blake’s first time in the ocean/pool & Kalani’s first time back in the ocean after being stung by a jellyfish

Our “city tour” took us to Cunayan Falls. The kids were a bit disappointed that they didn’t have their swimsuits, but we told them they could swim in their clothes like the locals and that made them happy

We got to explore the “Millennium Balete Tree” where you can walk through it since there is a path “carved out”. And the kids could have stayed here for a couple of hours climbing all over it

We left Baler and the only road to get to Tuguegarao was a bit scary at times with it only being dirt roads, land slides and washed away in some places

On this road to Tuguegarao we saw some of the descendants of the very first people in the Philippines called “aeta“

After a few hours in the car we made it to Tuguegarao and met up with our good friend Mavis. She and our driver Juan joined us exploring the Callao caves

There are 7 “openings” at Callao caves and in the 2nd opening is a “church” that holds services once or twice a month

We said our good-byes to Mavis and continued driving north to reach Cagayan Holiday & Leisure Resort. This is where the Survivor Cagayan crew stayed

Cagayan Holiday & Leisure Resort has a bunch of homes (our had 5 bedrooms & private pool) to rent out, a casino & private airstrip…mostly caters to Chinese clients who like to gamble

On our way to our next destination we came across the “Filipino Family Vehicle”

We stopped at Pagudpud beach and enjoyed the powder white sand and beautiful scenery. They call this place the Boracay of the north.

Our hotel on the north/west of Luzon was at Fort Ilocandia and it was wonderful. There was so much to do/see at the resort that we will most likely go back since we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to

We got in this jeep and went on some sand dunes as a family

Mason really liked sliding down the sand dunes

Kalani went horseback riding around the resort and on the beach

She also tried out archery for the first time

After staying at 3 wonderful resorts, our last hotel in La Union would be considered a dive in comparison. But, we enjoyed a walk on the beach and were now only 6-7 hours away from home.

We enjoyed the beautiful countryside of Norhern Luzon

This is our room at the Intercontinental Hotel, which had this spectacular view of Victoria Harbor

We took a tram up to Victoria Peak

BIG groups of Filipinos were gathered at parks playing games since they all had the day off

On our tour of Hong Kong Island we stopped at a local market

Over 1,000 people live in this apartment building. There are many of these apartment buildings all over Hong Kong

A nice quiet area on Hong Kong Island

Heading back to our hotel, we passed this “ship” that is really a department store inside

We took the metro to head to Lantau Island. We were headed to the Big Buddha, but these girls were going to Hong Kong Disney

Heading up to the Big Buddha by cable car

Our tour guide arranged for us to have a glass bottom cable car going up to Big Buddha

From the cable car we could see construction of a bridge that will give another access to mainland China

Off the cable car and we see Buddha in the distance and western types of shops for the tourists

Buddha (34 meters high) is blessing us as we climbed the 268 steps to reach the statue

Across from the Big Buddha is the Po Lin Monastery. Here are statues of Buddha as Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

We hit up the “Ladies Market” to buy some cheap gifts for the kids

We also went to the Night Market to have a look, but they basically have the same things as the Ladies Market

Our last day we started out visiting the beautiful Nan Lian Garden which is right in the middle of the city

Chi Lin Nunnery was just across the bridge of the Nan Lian Garden

Guardians of Buddha

People get fortune sticks at the temple and then go to these fortune tellers to find out their future. There are at least 2 dozen of these fortune tellers on site

It was wonerful to spend time together as a couple and we really enjoyed our tour guide and driver

Our flight arrived in Brunei around midnight from Manila

We spent our first afternoon swimming with our cousins at the Radisson Hotel pool

Royal Regalia Museum, where you can see things that the Sultan has used; like this chariot that is about 50 years old

Brunei has proboscis monkeys in the wild; along with other animals that we were fortunate enough to see

We visited a water village that we had to take a “water taxi” to reach. There was a home that was open to tourists and it was interesting to see how people live at this water village

From the water village we took a boat to try to find some wild animals. Our boat driver spotted this crocodile.

We also found these monkeys near the water edge. We also found proboscis monkeys and a lizard, but they were too far for a clear photo.

Esjay, our tour guide, was well prepared and brought along binoculars that Mason loved using

We also got to tour around a Mosque that the current Sultan had built. It caught me a bit off guard when the men wouldn’t even acknowledge me or the kids while there.

In order to tour the mosque we had to dress appropriately and remove our shoes

Our tour guide drove us around Brunei and told us how the country/government functions. This is a subsidized government home.

At the Polo Club there is an elephant kept there. We were told that the elephant belongs to the Sultan’s sister.

Our last night we stayed at the Empire Resort and it was spectacular. The kids didn’t want to leave.

Matt took Kalani kayaking for the first time in one of the pools of the Empire while Mason and I hung out at the kids pool/playground.

Our family in Brunei stayed with us at the airport while we waited to board our plane. We LOVED being with them and getting to know them better…Family is what it’s all about!