OPPO F1s: Travel Essentials

With only one to two weeks of preparation and limited budget, we we're able to pull together our first ever family travel. No itinerary, anything goes 2-day trip! This happened mid of March last year (yes 2016!). We opted for night trip on a Saturday since some of us also have work that day. With our backpacks holding our clothes for the trip, before going to the bus terminal, we headed to the nearest drug store to purchase last minute travel essentials such as wet wipes, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, medicines, biscuits and candies for snack while on the road. Though we stayed at our relatives' place we had to make sure we also have our personal essentials.
 
Fast forward to our actual wandering in Ilocos Sur... Our first stop was at the very first sun dial in the Philippines, located at Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. We even checked our phones to see if the time was in sync and it is!

After lunch, we went to Bahay na Bato in La Union. The sun was up, good thing I brought with me a hat to protect me from harmful UV rays. In my bag also was my umbrella in case we needed further coverage. Comfortable clothing and footwear are also a must because when you are in a trip, there is a lot of walking.

In this trip, my sister did not bring with her her DSLR camera which was quite bulky--we had to travel light. Besides, most of us have our mobile phones which served as our watch, camera, alarm, flash light, practically an all-in-one gadget. You'll never know when you'll come across odd-colored double sink--in Green! We all had to take a groufie at the mirror above it.

Still in La Union, we went to a nearby beach for merienda and some swimming. We knew there were beautiful beaches in the north so we also brought with us swimwear. Here, we chanced upon a beautiful sunset on the beach.

The next day (our last day in Ilocos Sur), we headed to Vigan. On our way, we stopped in Candon City for quick pasalubong shopping of course keeping in mind the very limited budget (still bought some chichacorn and kalamay).

We entered the church in Candon City and we're in awe of the magnificent and very colorful paintings at the ceiling.

We also had a quick stop-over at beautiful rock formations along the road for some more photos--had to catch the waves too! Did I mention you have to bring with you a hat and a pair of sunglasses too.

You'll notice that the pictures are grainy as they were taken with a 3-4-year old mobile phone with a low resolution camera. A travel essential like Oppo F1s could have taken better pictures of the whole trip. We could have taken more pictures and more options in those two days of no itinerary-trip.

Now, the family is looking forward to an annual travel. Up to this point, still no plans but we still have the rest of 2017 to think about and execute!

p.s. more of our 2016 trip on another post.

Our MAFBEX 2016 experience

June 12, 2016, Saturday. Manila World Trade Center. This is our third year to attend Manila Food and Beverage Expo (MAFBEX). Year 2012 was our first year, it was just the three of us--me and my sisters. We weren't able to attend on 2013 and 2014 due to schedule conflicts and budget constraints. Last year (2015) my sisters and I  went with my hubby and our daughter. Then this year, we went last June 12 (which also was the celebration of Philippine Independence), me and my daughter Mia met up with my sisters. Lucky for me, I won a complimentary ticket from the Facebook promo of WorldBex so we only paid for three tickets. We were not able to take a photo of our tickets this year but we got to exchange the tickets for eco bags where you can put your haul (flyers, product samples, bought products, etc) as you roam around the expo hall. Will share with your our take home treats in a separate post.

an eco bag in exchange for a ticket

It was the last day of the expo. The event was held from June 8. We saw Chef Boy Logro where he demoed whipping up dishes using Baguio Oil and on the other side of the hall, there was Chef Lau (Rolando Laudico) for the battle of fried rice and to promote Harvester's Rice variants, when we passed by that area it is already the Q&A portion with the audience. If you're a MAFBEX goer, and you stay and watch the cooking demos, you'll also have a chance to taste the finished product.

leaflets, flyers and small product samples; selfie with a mascot;chef Boy invited an audience to come up to the stage for a taste

If you like to try new things, taste new flavors, just like when you are in a grocery store--you'll get a lot of that by roaming around. Mia even went back not once or twice but a lot of times on one of the stalls for a cup of chocolate slushie--she can't help it, means it's really delicious.

had to pose at the entrance

Make sure to start from one side and go from alley to alley so you can check out everything. There are lots of stalls to see: new food products, gourmet food, favorite snacks, viands, drinks, food carts, food franchise, food business equipment, cooking utensils, pots and pans, food trucks, everything about food! We also got the chance to have selfies with mascots :)

see you again next year!

If you plan to visit next year, bring budget for food, food and food and other things too... and dress like you're going to a super sale. We enjoyed the experience. Hope to be able to be there again next year.