Hong Kong hit us like a brick… a very beautiful, neon-lit, skyline-filled brick.

We landed completely exhausted, the kind of tired where even room service felt like a big decision. We hadn’t eaten in like 24 hours after  our vomit-fest the day before and for whatever reason we we’re really craving The Cheesecake Factory. Crazy enough, there happened to be one nearby so Marshall went and picked up dinner and brought it back to our room. What a guy! As starving as we were, none of us could eat more than a few bites before we felt full.

I had planned a fun evening out on the town, but we all had zero energy after getting no sleep the night before. Instead, we passed out by 6pm and somehow pulled off a 13-hour sleep marathon, which might be our most impressive accomplishment of the entire trip.

The next morning we felt like entirely new people. Rebooted. Reborn. Ready to conquer Hong Kong.
First stop: Ngong Ping cable car. We Ubered over and hopped into one of the glass-bottom cabins, which sounded like a fun idea until you realize you can see… everything below you. The 25-minute ride up was equal parts breathtaking and mildly nerve-wracking with the wind blowing us around, but the views were unreal. Mountains, water, sky—then out of nowhere a MASSIVE Buddha statue at the top of a mountain in the distance.

Once we got to the top and exited the cable car, we made our way over to the Tian Tan Buddha, which is just as impressive and peaceful as you'd expect. We climbed the 10+ flights of stairs to get up to the top and took in even more amazing views. Right next door was Po Lin Monastery, filled with intricate gold statues that made everything feel calm, quiet, and a little surreal. We saw monks walking around and people paying their respects in each of the temples. It was a nice slow pace for tourists. Exactly what we needed that morning and a refreshing, revitalizing experience.

Lunch was simple—Subway sandwiches to keep things moving—but dessert is where things went off the rails. In the little town below the Big Budha, we found an ice cream shop with literally 100 flavors. Sounds fun, right? Until you realize many of those flavors include things like wasabi, soy sauce, curry… and corn. Yes. Corn.

At this ice cream shop, you commit and buy a scoop first then you can try any and all flavors you want. Say no more! The lady behind the counter kept handing Tyson a sample of everything he wanted, then when he exhausted all his interests, she scooped a big sampling of the corn ice cream. Instead of trying that, Tyson immediately turned around and force-fed it to Marshall.

Marshall’s face was priceless, absolute shock and disgust. Followed by the official ruling: worst flavor of all time. Who in their right mind would think of making cream corn flavored ice cream?!

After the boys chose their flavors of some variation of chocolate, of course, we took the cable car back down (still glass-bottom, still slightly terrifying), then headed back to the hotel for some downtime. 

The boys opted to recharge with their iPads, so we took the opportunity to wander around the nearby shops. We ended up at Paper Moon, grabbed a cocktail, and sat out on the patio just taking in the amazing skyline along the river.

When we got back to the hotel, Marshall and the boys jumped into the hotel’s rooftop pool while I lounged on the day bed and enjoyed the sun. The view again did not disappoint. It was like a scene out of the movie Inception. Everywhere you looked all around you there was skyline upon skyline. Literally like 4 Manhattans were right next to each other surrounding our hotel. Absolutely mind blowing how dense Hong Kong is with skyscrapers.
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That evening, we headed to Kaboom rooftop restaurant for appetizers and a killer view. They were playing American hip hop and we all went around the table showing off our best dance move.  I obviously dominated that challenge! 

Afterwards we walked about a mile to get to the Temple Street night market. We were soaking in all the sights and smells of the local cuisine and knick knacks they had for sale, but mostly just killing time until 8pm to go see the famous light show.

In Hong Kong, there is a Symphony of Lights every night where (mostly tourists) gather by the river front and watch the skyline come to life. We were super pumped to watch it! We got to the river about 20 minutes early to scope out the perfect viewing spot. Then we waited. And waited. I noticed a countdown had started on one of the buildings 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1…..some of the buildings had lights flashing and green lasers shot out into the sky from a building or two….then nothing really happened. We quickly realized this was the extent of the show. We were expecting to get blinded by spectacular lights in sync with symphony music, and I don’t know, maybe see dragons. Instead, it fell flat and we left after about 5 mins. Apparently, the show will permanently end in a few months. Gee, I wonder why?
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After the disappointing show, we headed back to our hotel for the night. Marshall and I were still hungry so we stopped in the lounge to share a pasta dish and stared out at the fluorescent skyline one last time.  The view is just mesmerizing!

​The following morning, we enjoyed breakfast at a nearby restaurant that specialized in soufflés. All the flavors looked amazing! We each ordered our own so we could try them all. We didn’t realize that three souffles came on each plate and they were super filling. We easily could have just shared two but all good.

After our three-hour flight from Beijing to Guilin, we grabbed a taxi for what was supposed to be a peaceful 90-minute drive through the countryside to Yangshuo. The scenery slowly shifted from city to lush green fields and dramatic hills as far as you could see, and we were all getting excited to see our next spot: the Ancient Garden Hotel.

That is… until GPS betrayed us.

Our driver couldn’t understand where we wanted to go when we told him, so we showed him the address that we had found for the hotel online then had ChatGPT auto translate into Mandarin for us. This, in hindsight, may have been our mistake. Marshall plugged that into his phone and the driver followed the map down the highway until he turned down this long, skinny dirt road. The road continued to get smaller, bumpier, and less maintained until the bushes and tree branches were literally scraping both sides of his car as we squeezed through. You could practically hear the paint peeling off.

After a few minutes of this he stops and said we’re here (in Mandarin). WHERE?! It was a teeny tiny walking trail with 12 dogs running around, this couldn’t be the place. We did NOT get out of the car and frantically looked on our phone and with barely 1 bar of service we tried to see where we’d gone wrong. When we finally checked a different GPS app, we realized we were still three miles away from the actual hotel. He turned around, retraced the scratched-up path, and took us toward the correct address. Ouch! How do you say sorry in Mandarin again?

When he finally pulled over and said we had arrived, we all stared out the window and thought, “There’s no way this is it.” The street in front of us did not look like the charming hotel we’d seen in the photos. More like a few hundred year old ruins and a 70 year old gas station. As we tried to again explain that this wasn’t the right place while the driver was asking for payment, a man walked up, opened the door, and asked if we were staying at Ancient Garden Hotel. We said yes but asked if he was sure this was the right place and he said “110% sure, let me help you with your bags”. Turns out, the hotel was tucked behind the street a few hundred feet, hidden from view, built in and amongst the ruins. Phew!

We followed him down a long alley, turned a corner, and there it was: the gorgeous, historic courtyard hotel from the pictures, framed by the unique mountainscape in the background.

We were starving, so first order of business: lunch at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. Simple, delicious, and with those epic mountain views—exactly what we needed after a long travel day.

After eating, we stopped by the front desk to plan out the evening. First up: bamboo rafting on the Yulong River.
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Marshall and Tyson climbed into one bamboo raft, while Wesley and I took another. Each raft had a captain who stood at the back and steered with a long pole, pushing us up the river against the current. The water was calm and peaceful, with farms and mountains all around us. Every so often, we’d reach a small dam, and the raft would tip over the edge, giving us a quick splash of cold water as we dropped down. We went over four dams in total—just enough to make it fun without totally soaking us.

Back at the hotel, the boys jumped straight into pool mode. They first slurped a yummy snickers milk shake and then grabbed the blow-up paddles board to cruise around on. We got lots of swim time in and let everyone burn off the last of their energy.

​That evening, we headed out to the Impression Sanjie Liu Show, which is a must-do cultural experience in Yangshuo. As we were walking into the venue, a random guy tapped Wesley—our nine-year-old—on the shoulder and tried to sell him a beer. Of all people in our family, why did he decide the elementary schooler was his best shot at closing the deal?
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Somehow, our hotel worked some magic and scored us front-row tickets, which made it even more incredible. The walk to the theater area was through a path of 100+ foot bamboo forest and traditional Chinese buildings. The show is set outdoors along the river, with the mountains miles away lit up as a natural backdrop. There were hundreds of performers singing and dancing on boats and rafts across the water. It was surreal and so cool—like a live performance woven right into the landscape.

The next morning we had a vintage sidecar tour on the agenda. The guides rolled up with two vintage motorcycles with sidecars….and two drivers. Seeing our look of confusion, the tour guide tried explaining that the kids would be in the sidecars while Marshall and I ride on the back of the motorcycle straddling the driver.

That was… not what I had in mind.

I had been picturing us actually driving the sidecars ourselves, which is exactly how it was shown in the pictures on their website. We definitely did not want to be chauffeured around town, we wanted to explore and take it at our own pace. So we made a game-time decision and the guide kindly called his boss and swapped out the vintage bikes for newer electric sidecars that we were actually allowed to drive around the country roads. We lost about an hour of tour time during the swap, but it was absolutely worth it.

Once we finally got going, we zipped through the countryside, winding between fields and rivers with the amazing peaks all around us. We drove as fast as we could, which is apparently our family’s default speed. Driving a sidecar, though, is a whole different skill—you have to constantly remember there’s this extra chunk of vehicle hanging off your right side.

Marshall learned that the hard way when he accidentally side-swiped an old lady on a rickety bike. She was understandably upset, climbed off, and inspected her bike like it was a brand-new Tesla that just got keyed. This thing was so rusty and beat up, there’s no universe in which it could look more damaged than it already did—but she definitely gave him an earful (in Mandarin).

I wasn’t exactly driving like a pro either. I hit a couple of curbs and even drifted into a ditch a few times. No major damage—just my pride.
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About halfway through, we switched into three-wheeled vehicles with roofs, which were amazing purely because they shielded us from the 90-degree sun. Shade plus breeze made the second half of the ride much more comfortable.

When we got back to the hotel, the fun came to a screeching halt.

Wesley started feeling sick and soon was in full-blown vomit mode. About an hour later, Marshall went down. Shortly after that, Tyson joined the club. In the meantime, I felt totally fine, so clearly they had all eaten something I skipped.

While the boys were collectively destroying our bathroom, I spent hours by the pool, working on my laptop and soaking up vitamin D. Every now and then I’d check on them, and it looked like a scene from a low-budget disaster movie.

Of course, in the middle of the night, it finally hit, and I joined the throw-up party. We got through the night by drinking half of a water bottle every time we needed to do the duty and by the morning everyone was feeling well enough to get out of dodge and move to the next spot. Even though we didn’t get a wink of sleep the boys champed it up and impressed us with their fortitude and ability to stick things out during hard times with a positive attitude.

After a night of no sleep and nonstop throwing up, we woke up feeling like zombies who’d been run over by our own sidecars. But the travel schedule waits for no one.

We had to check out by 10 a.m., pile into a car for an hour-long drive to the train station, and then catch a three-hour bullet train to Hong Kong. Everyone was exhausted, slightly traumatized, and running on pure willpower and the hope for a comfortable bed.
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Some trips end with a bang; Yangshuo ended with us dragging our queasy selves toward the next adventure—Hong Kong.

After the Seoul whirlwind, we woke up early, grabbed coffee and plane snacks at the airport, and boarded our flight to Beijing! When we touched down, we were all really excited to explore the big city!

We hopped in a taxi and immediately got treated to an hour of our driver blasting Chinese TikTok videos on his phone propped up on the dash. Marshall was white-knuckling the whole ride thinking “Dude, eyes on the road!” while the boys were in the back enjoying watching locals singing/dancing and cat videos.
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As we pulled up to our Happy Dragon Saga hotel, the driver took us down this long sketchy back alley lined with tiny historic row houses and local shops. We had no idea what we were walking into. As we entered the lobby, the first thing we noticed a cute little restaurant … and the second thing we noticed was the ENTIRE hotel smelled like fish. Oh joy! Turns out they offer free fish dumpling-making classes in the restaurant. I guess the awful smell is a small price to pay for the hotel guests in exchange for a great cultural experience, right?

Once we dropped off our bags, we walked over to a popular restaurant called Dadong on the top floor of a shopping mall. It has a massive menu with pictures of the most unique foods we’d ever seen (smoked lions head, braised sea cucumber, stewed flounder, etc.) We went all-in and ordered seven dishes, including their famous Peking duck. The chef rolled the duck out on a cart and carved it tableside, plating every slice with total precision. Such a cool show! We got all the dipping sauce options and these super-thin wheat-flour “pan cakes” that were more like naturally flavored tiny tortillas. Tyson demolished them—kept ordering fresh stacks every time he cleared one. We lost count after the third ten-stack. Classic Tyson.

The next morning the boys hit up the breakfast buffet while Marshall and I got ready for the day. They stuffed themselves with crème-filled mochi and every other sweet treat in sight. We ordered a Didi ride to our next hotel, Legendale, that apparently a lot of presidents have stayed at over the years. We dropped off our bags and headed to the Drum and Bell Tower. The big courtyard between them was packed with locals—a group swirling ribbons to music, sword dancers, Tai Chi masters, and tons of people playing Jianzi (their version of hacky sack with what looked like a badminton shuttlecock). A local lady saw us watching them play the game, brought a Jianzi over, and showed us how to play. She kicked it around with us, then pulled out two brand-new ones in a package and sold them for about $3 each. Of course we bought them! We hung out playing with the locals for a while until we realized we needed a LOT more practice to keep up with the pros. 

It was time to tackle the Forbidden City! We rode over to the north end of the giant walled city and only saw large groups of people exiting. No entrance in sight. With a quick phone search, we realize there’s literally ONE entrance, and it’s all the way on the south that’s like a mile away. Dang it! We decided to walk the hour along the wall, dodging tourists and shopkeepers on a narrow sidewalk until we finally reached Tiananmen Square. We stood in line to get tickets… only to watch one tourist after another get rejected at the front. We asked one of them why and they told us that you have to buy tickets a day in advance. What?! Honestly, total rookie move on our part for not doing the research. I guess we have something awesome to look forward to next time we (or the boys) are back in Beijing.
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A little disappointed but still rolling, we strolled through the nearby shopping area on the way back. Tyson instantly spotted the chocolate museum, of course. They had epic chocolate sculptures of The Great Wall and palaces, plus a ton of different chocolates. He decided to spend some of his Easter cash and filled up a giant jar with various chocolates, obviously sampling them all to find the winners.

The boys burned off energy with a swim at the hotel pool that afternoon. This place was one of the nicest we’ve ever stayed in—the pool area looked straight out of ancient Greece. They even had strict rules: swim caps required. The boys rocked some sweet caps and had a blast.
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That evening we hit F Bistronome for dinner, an upscale spot with killer city views. They actually had chicken breast (rare find here). The boys have officially nicknamed me the “Chicken-breast-etarian,” but hey, I know what I like and I always end up happy no matter where we are.

Our last day in Beijing was the one we were all most excited for: The Great Wall! Our guide Linda met us in the lobby and we hopped in a private van for the two-hour drive. She shared interesting tidbits of the wall’s history along the way. At the parking lot we shuttled up to the entrance. We were informed there are three ways up to the wall: gondola, chairlift (with an hour-long line), or a 20-minute stair climb. Chairlift was included in the tour we had already purchased but the line was brutal; gondola was faster but an extra $80. We chose the workout and took the stairs.

Quick restroom stop first—our guide warned us to grab toilet paper from the sink area BEFORE entering the stall. Most tourists have no idea! What do they do otherwise? Shake dry? Rough for anyone going #2!
Wesley turned into a total monkey on the stairs on the way up to the wall—always ten flights ahead, disappearing around corners, then perching on a lookout spot until we caught up before zooming off again. Endless energy!

After breaking a serious sweat, we finally reached the top. We took a few moments to soak it in. This was a huge bucket-list moment for all of us. Standing on the Great Wall—stunning doesn’t even cover it. It is definitely one of the Seven Wonders for a reason. We took our time as we walked up and down the steep stairs along the Mutianyu section taking a ton of pictures and imagining what it was like for the soldiers who lived on and near the wall protecting China from the Mongols.

When it was time to head down, we lined up for the toboggan slide. THAT’S RIGHT! They have a toboggan to get down! Back in the 90’s they set this up for a fun and fast way down off the wall and back to the tiny town below. Each of us got our own sled and raced down. We flew as fast as we could on the straight parts and slowed when we caught up with the people ahead. We’d stop and wait to give as much space as we could, then zoomed again. Super fun!

Starving at the bottom, we remembered a pizza place from earlier and went straight there. Perfect recovery lunch. Afterward we hit a souvenir stall selling ice cream. The boys grabbed chocolate bars and I got a strawberry one with the Great Wall printed on the wrapper. So cool and tasty!

Linda suggested a free tea tasting at a nearby tea house. The tea expert poured five different teas and explained the health benefits of each. Our favorites were the dried fruit and lychee ones. The lady had this hilarious little ceramic boy—she poured hot water over him, and if it was hot enough he “peed” the water out. Her line? “No pee, no tea.” We bought four containers of tea, opting not to buy the one that Wesley said smelled like a horse. We also popped into a jade shop, watched a guy carving an elephant, and learned all about jade’s importance. Wesley seriously considered a small sculpture “for the investment” but passed—beautiful, but very pricey.

That evening we had dinner at an Italian spot called Tavola. Wesley ordered half a lobster and immediately broke off its one remaining eyeball so it wouldn’t stare at him the whole meal.

On the ride home we picked the economy option for the first time because it was closer than the luxury and a few bucks cheaper. The driver turned out to be an obnoxiously loud lady who, mid-drive, decided to FaceTime her ~5-year-old daughter. She kept turning the phone to show the boys in the back seat. The little girl giggled, laughed, and waved at them. The boys got their tiny celebrity moment and just smiled and waved back. Super cute, but only in China for sure.
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Back at the hotel we chilled and got a solid night’s rest before our next hop—a short 3-hour flight to the Guilin area, deeper inland in the jungle with some seriously wild topography waiting to be explored!

This year we were pumped to hit somewhere brand new! We always ask the boys their opinions and are usually met with ‘wherever you want to go’ type answers, but this time Wesley said he’d love to see the Great Wall of China. After a lot of research and discussion, we landed on taking a trip over to South Korea and China!

We took the boys out of school a day early before their Spring Break started and excitedly headed to the airport to get out of the cold rain to explore new warm region of the world this time of year. When we got to the airport, we all got some breakfast, and my coffee of course, then found our gate. We had about 45 mins before takeoff so we decided to swap some currency to spend on tips and trinkets on our trip. Unfortunately, the currency exchange ended up being at the other side of the airport and it took FOREVER—we literally had a Home Alone running down the airport corridor scene and were the last to board our flight. Yikes!
The flight itself was a solid 11-hour haul, and not one of us caught a single wink of sleep. We landed in Seoul at 6:30pm local (2:30am Seattle time). Jet lagged and ready to lie down flat, we went straight to the hotel and all face-planted into bed for a full night’s sleep.

The next morning was Easter! We celebrated our own low-key way. The Easter Bunny had set up a full egg hunt right there in the hotel room, using local South Korean candies and tucking bits of Korean currency into some eggs so the boys had their own spending money for the city. Sugar rush, surprise cash, and fully justifying the risk of missing a flight. Worked out perfect!

Once we checked out of the hotel, we Ubered to the next hotel in downtown Seoul (Fraser Place Central Seoul) and crushed the breakfast buffet: a hilarious mash-up of Korean and Western comfort food. Fried rice, noodles, dumplings, plus French fries, cereal, fruit, and pastries. One pastry in particular caught our eye—little yellow cake discs with cream inside that looked delicious. We each got one and bit in at once… and realized they were straight-up cut up Twinkies. Classic.
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Energized (and slightly sugared up), we walked over to Deoksugung Palace—by happenstance, we arrived just as the changing of the guards ceremony started. One of the boys asked how often it happens and Marshall had them going for a while thinking it was a once-in-a-century event and we were insanely lucky. We enjoyed watching the show and as we were leaving the boys figured out it happens three times a day. We had a good laugh as we walked to our next adventure.

From there we hit the cherry blossom festival. The trees were absolutely gorgeous, blanketed in soft pink and white blossoms. We did notice something odd though. Older trees had holes and gaps patched with cement—like someone tried to “fix” nature with a bad DIY job. Looked bizarre, but the blossoms looked perfectly happy and were blooming like champs.
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At one point, Wesley vanished for a minute—cue parent panic—until we spotted him with a random local who’d pulled him aside for a photo. Shelly immediately flashed back to her own childhood in Japan—blonde kids are apparently unicorn-level rare, so locals treat them like little celebrities and want “trophy photos” to show friends and family. Wesley said it felt a bit weird and scary at first, but he rolled with it like a tiny superstar.

At the end of the festival area they had some kid activities set up. Out of everything, Wesley locked onto this stationary bicycle that blew bubbles when you pedaled. Naturally, he hopped on and started pumping like his life depended on it. We all just stood there getting absolutely showered in bubbles for a solid chunk of time. Simple entertainment, massive giggles, unforgettable memories.

We wandered over to Hongdae shopping street next and scored a perfect window seat on the second floor of a café. The boys went wild for their Oreo shakes. From our front-row perch we had prime viewing of a poor guy on the street below desperately trying (and failing) to hand out flyers. Literally nobody would take one. We quickly solved the mystery: Seoul has no public trash cans. None. Zero. We spent the rest of the day asking each other, “Where does everyone put their trash?!” It became one of those ongoing trip mysteries we still laugh about.

While exploring the shops, Wesley pulled out some of his hard-earned Easter candy cash and scored a cartoonishly large bag of banana jelly candies for under a dollar. The boys did the math—and were blown away that each piece was basically a penny. They felt they unlocked an infinite candy cheat code.
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They also tried their luck at a local basketball carnival game. Working together, they nailed 3 of 5 shots and walked away with a giant stuffed bear. It was one of those moments of “Awesome! Future-us will love this at packing time.” We still have no clue how that bear fits in a tiny carry-on suitcase, but we’ll cross that bridge when we pack for our next hotel.

Later that afternoon we caught an incredible comedy martial arts show at Jump Theatre. It was mostly physical humor with just a sprinkle of Korean and English words, but you didn’t need language at all. The actors brought exaggerated movements, perfect slapstick timing, and ridiculous sound effects that had the whole family laughing non-stop. It was one of those shows where you walk out thinking, “Why don’t we have something this fun back home?” The boys both have their Taekwondo black belts… maybe one day they’ll start their own version. Haha!
 
After we got back to the hotel, Marshall and I even managed to sneak a quick date-night dinner down the street while the boys enjoyed some chill time in the room. Nothing beats a relaxed meal after a full day of sightseeing.
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We all wrapped up the evening at the Myeongdong night market. The energy was electric—bright lights, packed stalls, and endless food on sticks everywhere. Wesley fearlessly demolished a bunch of spicy octopus on a skewer like it was no big deal. We balanced it with banana Nutella crepe and banana mochi. By the end we were sticky, wiped out, and totally smitten with our experience in Seoul. A wonderful mix of chaos, sweetness, and wonderful surprises.

​Back to the hotel for a solid night’s rest before our next adventure… Beijing, CHINA!

Our Colombian adventure kicked off with an overnight layover in Bogata and then a quick one-hour flight to Cartagena. After landing, a taxi whisked us away to Hotel Las Americas Casa de Playa, right on the ocean. The boys wasted no time, swapping travel clothes for swimsuits and jumping straight into the pool. They were excited to see there was a water slide, zooming down it over and over while Marshall and I relaxed and soaked in the sun. With the beach just steps away, we wandered over to the oceanfront, where the boys body surfed for a solid hour, riding waves like pros.

Lunch at the hotel was a welcome refuel, and after freshening up, we headed out to explore Cartagena’s famous old walled city. Our taxi dropped us near Centennial Park, a spot I’d read about, was home to monkeys and sloths. We kept our eyes peeled and it didn’t take long for the locals to spot us first—friendly hustlers eager to point out hidden animals for a tip. Sure enough, we spotted a sloth lounging high in a tree, thanks to one persistent local. After searching a few other trees, we saw some of the tiny monkeys hanging on branches as well. So cute!
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Next, we stumbled into a courtyard swarming with pigeons. A man stood in the center, covered in birds, selling corn kernels to the tourists. The boys couldn’t resist. They bought a handful, sprinkled some in their palms, and within seconds, flocks of pigeons swooped down, pecking away at the boys. Nearby, a group of dancers performed a traditional vibrant dance, drawing a crowd in the park. 

​We capped the afternoon with a horse-and-carriage tour through the cobble stone streets. Our guide spoke only Spanish and didn’t give a rip that we obviously didn’t. He spent the whole time passionately telling us tales of the city that we couldn’t understand a darn word of — so we smiled, nodded, and pretended we were so amazed. It was a nice leisurely ride and we enjoyed soaking in all the sights anyway.

​Before dinner, we stopped at a quirky restaurant adorned with fish figures dangling from the ceiling to grab a quick refreshment before walking to a rooftop bar on the other side of the walled city. The views, the breeze, and the food made it a perfect first night.

​Day two started with a taxi ride to a beach where we met our tour guide for an island excursion. A 15-minute boat ride later, we arrived at our destination, strapped on motor cycle helmets, and hopped onto ATVs! We did a quick practice lap to prove we could drive then roared off, weaving through a small town littered with more trash than we’d ever seen—a stark contrast to the postcard-perfect Cartagena we’d seen so far. We paused at a historic fortress, where our guide shared snippets of its past, then tackled a steep, rocky hill. All our ATVs got stuck on the way up, so we had to go back down and wait for the guides to push them up to the top, but we made it! A short hike from there rewarded us with a jaw-dropping viewpoint overlooking Cartagena’s skyline. We were all completely covered in dust from head to toe when we returned from our adventure, but it was totally worth it!

Once we got back on the mainland, we returned to the hotel for some body surfing in the ocean and more pool time. After showering off the saltwater, we realized we didn’t get enough time in the walled city, so we ventured back to walk around and explore more for the evening. The streets were packed with people and lively music everywhere. Our favorite part may have been the puppeteers who were the best we’d ever seen. Really impressive story lines and complicated set ups.
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Dinner was at (you guessed it) another rooftop restaurant, where Tyson decided to test his luck. He told our server it was his birthday (a month late, but who’s counting?), hoping for a super delicious dessert, but without any awkward birthday song. Instead, the DJ cut the music, switched to a lively Spanish birthday song, and our server paraded over with a chocolate cake topped with sparklers. Strangers joined in the singing, and Tyson turned beet red as we all laughed and sang along. There also happened to be live performers wandering around the restaurant, a belly dancer and a creepy guy swirling a ball around (the boys were not impressed with his questionable talent, lol).  

​We spent our final morning bouncing between the beach and the hotel pool before moving to a new hotel in the old town. I’d intended to save the old town for the last two days, but it was just too enticing, and we were excited to spend our remaining time seeing the rest of the sites. As soon as we got settled in, hunger hit, so we hunted down a cafe before we set off for San Felipe de Barajas Castle, a massive fortress with a maze of dark tunnels. The boys turned it into a game, hiding in nooks and popping out to scare us, their laughter echoed off the stone walls and definitely livened up the place and the experience.

​We were pretty tired after all that and decided to go back and lounge in the rooftop pool. We enjoyed the mesmerizing view that layered the old town’s colonial charm against the modern skyscrapers in the distance. After drying off, we hit the streets to shop. Art stores, clothing boutiques, and souvenir stalls lined the way. Wesley had his heart set on a super cool art piece statue of a man with half a body carrying a briefcase. We told him we’d browse more but could circle back tomorrow if he was sure he wanted to buy it. 

We’d booked dinner at our hotel’s rooftop restaurant, where we enjoyed a sunset that painted the sky in hues of orange and pink. The kitchen, unfortunately, was out of what Marshall and I wanted, so just the boys at dinner there. Afterward, we gave the kids some iPad time and slipped away to an Italian spot next door for an impromptu date night—a sweet end to our last evening. 

​Cartagena stole our hearts with its vibrant history, colorful streets, and endless character. From surfing and sloths to rooftop dinners and unexpected birthday serenades, every moment felt alive. It’s a city that blends the old and the new effortlessly. We’d highly recommend anyone interested to book a trip to experience it for yourself!

The Galapagos Islands have been on our travel shortlist for ages, and 2025 was finally the year we made it happen! Our journey kicked off with a 17-hour trek that landed us in Quito, Ecuador’s historic capital, smack in the middle of the night. We had a reservation at a hotel near the airport, and as we stumbled out of the taxi, alpacas were right there waiting to greet us. Just casually wandering around like they were part of the check-in crew. The boys lost it. “Free animals with the room? Woohoo!” It was the perfect quirky welcome to Ecuador.

Shortly after getting settled into our room, we realized we were REALLY close to the airport. Like right under the flight path of the planes. Every so often the room would rumble as planes would fly over. But we didn’t give a rip and we had no problem going straight to bed. 

After a decent night’s sleep, we were up early and ready to tackle the city of Quito. But first, the boys took off to get in playtime with the hotel’s roaming alpacas, llamas, cats, and dogs. It was like a petting zoo had taken over the grounds—total chaos, lots of fun. The alpacas were a bit TOO friendly and tended to jog towards you, which was kind of intimidating. One of the cats (the boys named Jeremy) took a liking to Tyson’s leg when he was petting it and showed him what claws of an excited cat can do to your pant leg. Took a bit of shaking (literally), but we finally pried them away and grabbed a taxi into the city. That’s when the animal experience really took a turn. When we were about halfway up the mountain to get to the city, a large stray dog bolted across the street, dodging a bus that was in the lane next to us by a hair. Unfortunately, that set it straight in front our taxi. We all squealed as the driver accidentally ran it over. I whipped around to check the back window—thankfully, the pup hobbled off to safety. Bruised but alive. What a way to start the trip!
 
When we got into the heart of Quito, we checked into Chakana Hotel Boutique, a cozy spot just a short stroll from the historic core of the city. After dropping our bags in our room, we wandered out for lunch and landed at Cafe Plaza Grande. Ummm, with live saxophone music? Sold! Halfway through our meal, the lights dimmed, a traditional song started playing, and out came a strange person in a purple robe and a tall, pointy hat (picture the KKK)--- and delivered dessert to another table. We all just sat there flabbergasted, forks hovering, trying to process the randomness. After a quick Grok search, we learned it was part of a religious tradition in the area …Ecuador, you’re full of surprises.

​Post-lunch, we roamed Quito’s cobblestone streets and ended up at Santo Domingo Church. We snagged tickets for their dome tour, and wow, was it worth it. The guide led us up a steep, winding staircase through the innards of the church walls—narrow enough to make you question the size of lunch we just had—until we popped out onto the church’s dome roofs. The boys scrambled up like the little adventurers they are, and we snapped some stunning pics with the old city sprawled below. It was a really cool experience!

The day wasn’t done yet. Tyson and Wesley sniffed out a dessert shop, and soon we were nose-deep in a strawberry-banana-Nutella crepe and an Oreo shake. They were in sugar nirvana, and I was just happy to soak in the Quito vibe. That night, we were too wiped for our dinner reservation, so we ordered some ‘local’ Italian via Uber Eats and crashed with a movie in our room. Perfect first day.

Next morning, it was finally time to make our way to the Galapagos Islands so we eagerly boarded our two-hour flight to Baltra Island. After landing on the small island the airport is situated on, the customs agent checked our passports and then passed us over to another guy that just looked at us and said, “OK, $600” and stuck out his hand for payment. WHAT? Why? He then pointed at me and said “$200”, then to Marshall “$200” then to each of the boys, “$100 and $100”.  He said it was a park entrance fee. Marshall immediately Grok’d it and sure enough, it’s a required charge for every tourist. Wow, didn’t see that mentioned anywhere in the process of booking the trip! Apparently the money goes towards conservation and supporting the animals and parks, but really?
 
Luckily, when we got out of the airport, our tour guide was standing there with a smile and a sign and led us to our very own private luxury bus—fancy! He whisked us away to experience the island. The bus drove slow at first, winding down a long, curvy road. The tour guide said he had to drive slow because there was a special ‘yellow iguana’ that lived only on that island. If the driver accidentally drove over one (don’t want that experience again), it’d be a $20,000 fine! Once we got past the iguana gauntlet, we were taken to a massive sinkhole. It was one of the largest on the island and the main reason most islands in the Galapagos cannot retain rainwater as it goes through these sinkholes and into the sea. So interesting!
 
The next stop on the tour was a lava tunnel that was discovered just 25 years ago. So cool walking all the way through the long tunnel, dodging our heads along the way in low areas. One spot was so tight we had to belly-crawl under a massive boulder. The boys thought it was epic; I was just glad I didn’t get too muddy, lol.

Our last stop of the tour was the giant tortoise conservation area, but hunger hit first, so we grabbed lunch at the onsite restaurant. Wesley was stoked to try the yellowfin tuna—he’s turning into a little foodie and absolutely loves trying new types of seafood. When we wandered into the nature preserve next door, holy moly, those giant tortoises were…GIGANTIC! Some were over 400 pounds and 150 years old. We just stood there, staring at these living dinosaurs roaming around like it was no big deal. Each of them eats over 80 lbs per DAY of grass and vegetation. That’s more than Tyson weighs! The boys even got to try on a giant shell and pretend to be a tortoise, lol.

After the tour, our driver dropped us at Hotel Fiesta in Santa Cruz, where we had a private bungalow awaiting us. It’d been a long day and the pool was calling. The boys went immediately with Marshall and jumped in and started playing Marco Polo. It only took about 5 minutes for some random guy to come out of his room and ask them to be quiet because he was trying to sleep. Dude, it’s like 4pm. So the boys continued the ‘whisper’ version of Marco Polo and still had a blast. They didn’t last long in the pool though, as they noticed the 3 connected hot tubs with raging jets. Marshall went out to grab some pizzas for dinner while the boys and I soaked. After a little while, we all realized were all beat so we decided to eat the pizza in the room and watch American Ninja Warrior in Spanish to settle in for the night. Sometimes, you just need relax nights.

The next day, we caught an early two-hour ferry to Isla Isabela, famous for its jaw-dropping beaches and snorkeling. The process of getting there requires you to get on a small fishing boat that holds about 12 people and takes you to a little bit of a bigger boat that holds maybe 50. When we got on the small fishing boat the guy driving the boat charged everyone for $1 each for the ride. Oh no! The smallest bill we had was $100 from the ATM at the airport. The guy looked at Marshall like he was crazy that he could split that. Marshall had to ask the only other person who spoke English on the boat and thankfully she had just enough to give us change. PHEW! We’ve run into situations where we didn’t have enough, or the right currency, but never had too much.
 
Either way, we were thankful and got on the 2-hour ferry which was really fun and felt like we were traveling super fast in the back row. Wesley and Tyson took turns going in the very back with Marshall to watch the birds carve the waves and see fish jump at the side of the boat while I took a nice nap up at the front.
 
When we arrived at the next island, we were welcomed with yet another ~$100 charge to get on the island. ‘Lucky’ for us, that was the total, not per person, but dang – these fees keep stacking up. We then went to our hotel and dropped our bags off before we jumped on a tour bus to take us to the pier for a boating adventure. First up: penguins, blue-footed boobies, sea lions, and pelicans—wildlife central! We docked at a small island that was like a Mars-scape of lava rocks and wandered around for a while, spotting sea turtles and iguanas everywhere. It was mating season, so we had to step over iguanas digging holes everywhere to bury their eggs—nature in action. Back on the boat, we hit up a shallow snorkeling spot. I wasn’t feeling great, so I stayed aboard while the boys dove in. They came up raving about seahorses, sea turtles, anemones, and colorful parrotfish.

After the tour, we changed and walked a few blocks to a little town for dinner. We’d barely sat down at an outdoor restaurant when a huge black cloud blew over us and poured down like we’d never seen before. We were assured by the staff that the table under the awning was fine… until it started leaking all over us. We scrambled to an indoor table with an open roof but had just enough cover to stay dry. By the time we finished, the streets were flooded for our walk back—sloshing through ankle-deep water like champs. 

Next morning, we hit up Isla Isabela’s white-sand beach. The boys went body surfing while I dipped my toes in along the shore. There were eagle rays, black tip sharks, and even some sea lions that joined them to surf the waves as well. Pretty magical experience for everyone!
 
A little while later, we noticed a staircase on the beach leading to a scenic lookout, but it ended up being an iguana obstacle course—dozens of them and their babies lounging on each of the steps. We tiptoed over them to reach the top for a killer photo. Afterwards, lunch was at a beachside spot, but island time struck again. We thought we had plenty of time before our ferry left, but it ended up taking over an hour to get our food, leaving us just a few minutes to scarf it down before we bolted back to the hotel. We tried waving down a taxi that didn’t understand where we needed to go, so we decided to jog the rest of the way. After grabbing our bags, Marshall flagged down a taxi that happened to be the same confused driver as before—luckily, the driver finally figured out where we were going after using Google Translate and we made it to the ferry just in time.

Back in Santa Cruz, we walked from the pier to Hotel Las Ninfas passing by the most adorable snuggling sea lions We freshened up and took a special water taxi to Finch Bay Resort for an oceanside dinner. The food was amazing, the sunset was unreal, and the boys loved their iced chocolate drinks—unique flavors that kept them guessing.

Day four in the Galapagos was chill. The islands towns were surprisingly empty, not many tourists at all. We must have gone in an off-season. We’ll take it! We hit the Charles Darwin Breeding Center to learn more about the gigantic tortoises, full of ‘tiny’ five-year-old ones and a few massive old-timers. They had a mini museum too, with whale skeletons and other animals to learn more about—super cool. 

We moved to our final hotel of the trip – saved the best for last! It was a castle hotel and we were lucky enough to stay in the tower suite. Awww yeah! It had three levels capped with an ocean-view terrace. We were the only ones at the entire hotel, so we had the place to ourselves! It was luxurious and super fun to lounge by the pool.
 
We found a great Mexican spot for lunch and strolled around town, passing by beautiful mosaic tiled walls tucked down a side alley. It wasn’t long before the boys wanted to head back for a long swim, playing Marco Polo until our fingers pruned. 

Dinner was at a beautiful oceanfront restaurant called The Pointe. It had an amazing view of the water and many sharks, red crabs, and unique birds surrounding us. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to end to the day!

Our last day, we grabbed frappes and roamed Santa Cruz, popping into a free museum for an hour. Lunch was at The Rock, the island’s first bar, before a one-hour drive to the airport. We flew two hours back to Quito, then an hour to Bogota for a long layover overnight. Exhausted but buzzing from an epic trip.

​The Galapagos delivered—wild animals, wild moments, and memories we’ll be talking about for years. We couldn’t imagine, but where we went next would top that!

We were in such a hurry to get to the Cebu airport to make our flight to Taiwan that we didn’t have time to change our clothes. We arrived at the airport with bags in hand and only swimsuits and flipflops on. We got quite a few stares and laughs as we ran our butts through the airport to catch our flight, then proceeded to freeze our butts off on the plane. To top that off, I forgot to check the weather beforehand and just assumed Taiwan was going to be as warm as the Philippines since it’s only a 2-hour flight away. When we landed in Taipei, we looked out the window and it was pouring rain and only 50 degrees. Oh, just wonderful. Everyone else had pants with warm jackets on and the stares and laughs increased 10-fold when we got off the plane and stood in the long customs line. We looked ridiculous and definitely learned our lesson to have warm clothes at the ready in our bags. But who cares, I’m just glad we made our flight!
​
We quickly changed into some warm clothes at the airport and grabbed a taxi to Roaders Hotel in the bustling Ximen district. Immediately after walking in, the boys were in heaven - the lobby was a full on arcade with basketball, fighting arcade game, air hockey, and a huge screen where they were playing Kungfu Panda movies. The best part, they had snacks and drinks that were all FREE! We let them play for a while and then all took hot showers and put on WARM CLOTHES. 

Our Philippines island hopping adventure has been unreal and we’re excited to check out the next one on our list, Cebu! We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to take a 6am ferry from Bohol to Cebu. It took about an hour and a half, but it was a scenic ride and we spotted a whale jumping out in the distance! Once we arrived at the port, we noticed there wasn't a dock the boat was pulling up to. We got about 30 feet from shore then the crew just threw out their anchor and told us to take our shoes off and start walking. I had SUPER tight jeans on, so I did my best to roll them up. After tiptoeing our way to shore we put our shoes back on and got our bags. All but me, of course. I couldn’t roll my pants back down to save my life and it was cutting off my circulation. I was literally about to ask someone for a pocket knife to cut them off. After slowly shimmying my jeans for a half hour, I finally to them rolled back down. Phew! It took about that long to get our bags off the boat so all good.
 
We hopped in the smallest trike we'd ever seen - that magically was able to fit all our luggage strapped to the roof. I’m pretty sure we tripled the weight capacity of this little trike because we could only go like 10mph max up the hills. Gradually, we slowly made our way over to another port where we took a short ferry ride to the private island we were staying the night at.
 
Once arriving at the island, we changed into our swimsuits and headed over to the gorgeous sandbar that is the main draw of this island. We swam around in the crashing waves and the soaked in the beautiful turquoise water as we waited for our room to be ready. 
 
Once we were done swimming, we stopped by the front desk to find out our room was ready and it had been upgraded to a private villa. We’ll take it! We opened the front gate of our villa and the first thing we saw was our very own plunge pool. Awww yeah! Then we noticed the gorgeous sweeping ocean views from our villa. Score! We were pretty tired at that point, so we decided to relax in the room for a bit staring out at crashing waves through the open doors. It didn't take long for the boys to get bored, so we spent about an hour playing hide and seek, finding every nook and cranny to squeeze ourselves into. 

Later that afternoon we took a gander around the island and went back to the sandbar for sunset pictures. The tide was super low so we could walk all the way out to it. We skipped about 100 rocks and snapped a few pics before heading over to the playground. Marshall and Tyson played chess on their giant outdoor chess board while Wesley and I played on the teeter totter. By that point it was dinner time so we grabbed a table at the hotel’s restaurant and had a buffet dinner that included lots of yummy desserts. 

We woke up the next morning excited for our whale shark tour! After scarfing down a delicious breakfast, we left the island on a ferry to the mainland. Our tour guide met us at the terminal and drove us over to a beach a few minutes away. There is a ticketing system to get a place in line to get on the little rowboats that take you to see the whale sharks. We were informed when we got there that they were closing the tours for the day because of the windy conditions. Our tour lady went and talked to a few people standing next to the ticketing desk and she came back with a huge smile on her face. She got them to give us the very last tickets of the day before they closed! Phew, that was close!
 
While we waited for our turn, we walked over to a nearby coffee shop to grab some drinks. Our tour guide said it could be up to a 2 hour wait, but it only took about 15 minutes. Yay! Since we were the last ticket called, we ended up getting a boat with a crew of 4 rowers all to ourselves. They rowed out about 100 feet and then told us to jump in the water. The locals were throwing chum in the water to attract the whale sharks. We didn't see anything at first and then all of a sudden a mountain of a shark came swimming right towards us. Turned out there were several swimming within a couple feet from us. Their mouths are massive! The boys couldn't believe how big they were. Such a cool experience!

The next stop on our tour was Tumalog Falls. This waterfall looked straight out of Jurassic Park! There was guy hanging out by the waterfall that calls himself the “human drone”. He basically takes videos for you and moves around really fast, making it look like a drone did it. Pretty cool, thanks dude! Next to the waterfall was a pond that had the little fish that bite the dead skin off your feet. We've seen these at 'massage parlors' before in SE Asia, so we were curious what it would be like in nature. We all sat on the edge of the pond and stuck our feet in. Tons of fish swam over and started nibbling on our toes. Such a weird feeling and the boys were surprising digging it.
 
After leaving the waterfall we had a 4-hour drive ahead of us to Cebu City. Yaaay...NOT! We were already hungry, so to hold us over, we stopped at a good ol’ 7Eleven to grab a few snacks for the road. We made the most of the ride and just sat back and enjoyed the scenery as we drove through several small towns along the way. 

Around 5pm, we arrived at JPark Resort which is a huge resort with several restaurants and a waterpark. Unfortunately, we got there about an hour before the water slides closed. To top it off, the reservation I'd made months ago didn't get into their system, so the front desk had to completely rebook us. Luckily, there was a room for us and the boys happened to already have their swimsuits on so we quickly walked over to the slides to get a few runs in before they closed. The boys only got about 30 minutes on the slides, but all good, we had the majority of the day the next day to hang by the pool and beach before our flight out of Cebu.
 
Once we got cleaned up for dinner, we headed over to the Chinese restaurant next to the pool. We noticed outside the window that there was a cultural performance happening, so we ran out to enjoy the show while we were waiting for our food. There were singers, dancers and fire throwers performing next to the pool. So cool! 

​The following morning, we started our day with the biggest buffet breakfast we’ve ever seen with all kinds of international foods. Once we were stuffed, we set out to explore the rest of the hotel. We found the arcade which had a couple bowling lanes, air hockey and dart boards. So, of course, we had to play all those until the pool opened.
 
Right before the pool opened, we ran up to the room to change into our swimsuits. I figured that would be a good time to check into our flight that was leaving at 3pm. As I’m doing our online check in, it says our flight is leaving at 10:50am! What??? That can't be! I checked again, and sure enough they'd changed our flight on us without any notification to me (or at least that I saw). I looked at the current time and it was 9:20am. Our flight leaves in an hour and a half and the airport is nearly 30 mins away!! We scrambled to get our suitcases packed up and ran out the door. We asked our taxi driver to put the pedal to the metal! 
 
As we got closer to the airport, our driver turned off to a side road and asked us if we had 100 pesos. We weren’t sure why, but we handed it to him and then he handed it to an airport security officer at a side gate. Apparently, you can bribe the security officer to let you take the shortcut road through the back of the airport. Sweet! We got to the airport with one hour until our flight left and luckily were able to make it to our flight on time and even had time to grab a coffee. Phew, that was a close call! Well, the boys didn't end up getting to go on the slides much, but hey, at least we didn't miss our flight!
 
Cebu, Philippines has a lot to offer and wished we could have explored more but it’s time for us to head to our last stop on our trip.
 
Next stop: Taipei, Taiwan

After seeing a ton of beautiful islands and beaches, we continued our Philippines adventure over to another gorgeous island, called Bohol, known for its unusual geological formations. After a quick one-hour flight from El Nido, Palawan, we arrived to the island and made our way to our hotel, Amorita Resort, that is located on Alona Beach. We were welcomed with a great support staff who grabbed our bags, gave us a wet hand towel to freshen up, and handed us some tasty lemongrass juice. We sipped our juice while soaking in the ocean views and worked up an appetite for lunch. Our room wasn’t quite ready yet so we enjoyed a tasty lunch at their oceanside restaurant.
 
It was so warm out, we were all eager to get in the water! Their shallow infinity pool was the perfect place to cool off and soak in the gorgeous views. Oh and this pool was also perfect for a game of pool tag! We played tag and Marco Polo until we felt we sufficiently annoyed the people trying to relax by the pool and all agreed everyone was officially 'It'.

Later that evening we walked along Alona beach, which is lined with upscale hotels and local seafood restaurants. We passed a local guy sitting on a rock with a huge bucket full of sea urchins. He started knocking the side of the sea urchins with a spoon to split them in half then pulled out all the muck and poured the 'meat' of the urchin in a little plastic dixie cup. It took him a few minutes, but after he put around 10 urchins in the cup, a guy standing there waiting picked up the cup and gave him some cash, then proceeded to DRINK THE THING RAW RIGHT THERE!! He tried to offer some to his wife, but she refused to try it ( I don’t blame her!). We asked how it tasted and he said 'uh, pretty unique'. Yeah dude, you're eating the oceans boogers, good luck with that!
 
We had something a little more delicious in mind. Didn't take long for the boys to spot an ice cream shop. Except this one had some super unique flavors we'd never seen before and we all decided to try one we'd never had before. The flavors we landed on were durian (a fruit with such a potent smell that it’s banned in a lot of hotels), mango, ube and charcoal. Unusual, yet all were super tasty!
 
We dropped the boys off at the room to take showers and ordered them room service for dinner. Once they were settled and ready to relax with a movie, Marshall and I went back to the beach to people watch and grab a bite before hitting the hay. It was a bit more hoppin this time and we decided to follow the flow of people down a random side alley. We heard music and saw a big crowd so we knew something cool was happening. As we got closer, we saw about a half dozen performers throwing fire sticks around. So cool that we got to unexpectedly catch a free fire show!
 
We continued zigzagging around the town and came to a cocktail bar called Bamboo Place. We stopped in for a quick cocktail, but we were pretty tired so we decided to start heading back. Along the beach were a few more street performers that used their fire skills to throw fireballs around people’s heads for a cool video. I mean, I personally wouldn’t risk my hair going ablaze for a video but there were lots of other people perfectly fine taking that risk apparently.

The following morning we had booked an archery lesson at our resort. They had legit bows that we had never used before. It took a few shots for us all the get the hang of it but after a while the boys were shooting bullseyes. Nice job boys!
 
I was, of course, craving a blended coffee drink and we found a short walk away a little place called Bo’s Coffee, basically their version of Starbucks. I must say, their fraps are much better than Starbucks!
 
We spent some time at the beach and pool before packing up our suitcases and picking up our rental car. We kind of left in a hurry, so unfortunately, I left my favorite shorts and a tank top there. I guess that just means I get to go shopping for new clothes. Not so bad!

There was a local bee farm nearby that has an open-air restaurant serving all fresh organic ingredients. Perfect place to stop for lunch! We had spicy mango pizza and an organic salad with edible flowers while enjoying a nice cliffside beach view. The pizza was amazing and we slipped in a little more ice cream before we jumped back in the car to get to our next destination!

We drove nearly an hour through the countryside to our next hotel, Loboc River Resort. It’s an eco-friendly resort along the river with incredible jungle vibes. They offer all kinds of activities like paddle boarding, kayaking, monkey feeding and firefly watching boat tours. Fireflies, whaaaat!? We have to do that! Before we decided what adventurous things we'd do while we were there, we dropped our bags in our room and headed for the pool (of course). The boys had just enough time to cool off before the monkey feeding started. We walked over to "Monkey Island" and watched the guide feed the monkeys bread and various fruits. It was fun watching the monkeys swing from a tree on one side of the river to a tree on the other which looked totally impossible. After the monkey feeding, the guide walked us around the property to feed the ducks and rabbits as well. Last, they brought over a massive water buffalo that they let the kids sit on for a fun picture. So cool!
 
Later that evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner at our hotel’s restaurant overlooking the river. It was fun having all the wildlife sounds serenade us during dinner. Turns out they also have the best Carbonara pasta in the WORLD. Marshall and Wesley proceeded to choose that for every meal for the next few days. Oh well, 'When in Rome', amiright?

We all had a good night’s sleep before what we knew would be a full day of adventure ahead of us. About an hour drive from our hotel is the Chocolate Hills that is famous for its rolling hills landscape. We pulled into Chocolate Hills Adventure Park excited to try some of the thrilling activities we saw on their website. When we got to the front desk we were informed by a not so friendly staff member that only 3 of the 10+ activities on their website were available. Seriously, why are they even open? Luckily, the main attraction we wanted to do biking along a zip line was available. However, their website showed two tandem bikes going at the same time where all four of us could be in a picture together. But nope, they only offered one person bikes and you could only go one at I time. I gave them a little rant letting them know it’s not cool to false advertise on their website. On top of that nonsense, they also had a sign that you couldn’t have asthma, back issues or be menstruating, specifically because they didn’t want any red stains on their harnesses, lol. I mean who’s actually going to admit such thing and then just turn around and go home?
 
To get to the bike zipline, we walked up 260 stairs to get to a platform with sweeping views of the Chocolate Hills. It's basically a tight rope suspended 250 feet off the ground that you pedal across. I know, we do some crazy stuff! We geared up with safety harnesses and the guide said Wesley had to go first because the smallest bike just happened to be closest to the zipline at the time. Wesley didn’t hesitate and hopped right on! As he was about halfway across, a big gust of wind blew through the hills. I was a little nervous for him, but he champed it up. It was Tyson’s turn next. He was a little nervous but Wesley game him advice to "not look down and just look straight ahead and smile the whole time", lol. Marshall went next and rode there and back like it was nothing - he said he was a little scared too though. I went last and was absolutely terrified!! I gripped the bike handlebars for dear life and felt like I was going to fall off the whole time. I just pedaled as fast as I could to get to the other side as quickly as possible. Although it was scary, we all agreed it was a really unique and cool experience. We were so proud of the boys for doing something so adventurous and out of their comfort zone. Super cool dudes!

The adventure park also had zip line surfing which I had never seen before. The boys couldn’t do it because you had to be 100lbs. But somebody had to try it! Marshall said it was all me, so I hiked up a long trail to get over to the platform. Right before I got there, I saw a giant spider that was as big as my fist. I cringed as I had to walk under its huge web to get to the platform. The guide clipped me in, slipped my feet into the slots on the surfboard and away I went. So awesome surfing the sky while gazing out at the chocolate hills in the background!

Down the street was an ATV tour company. Since the day was still young, we figured we’d go see if we could get on a tour right away. We only had to wait about 15 minutes and then off we went with a private tour guide. Sweet! We rode in the two person buggies, Tyson with Marshall and Wesley with me. The guide led us along the bumpy dirt trail through the hills and splashing through mud puddles while taking videos of us as we went. Somehow mud got on the butt crack of my shorts but nowhere else….not sure how that’s even possible. Great, now everyone’s going to think I pooped myself.
 
We arrived at a viewing platform which required us to walk up a couple hundred stairs. Man, we’re really getting our steps in today! Once at the top, each group’s tour guide was taking their photos. We had to wait quite a while as the group of six in front of us took pictures of every possible group and individual pose like they were having their own private photo shoot. When it was finally our turn our guide had us do various poses, one of which was jumping up on a broomstick to look like you’re flying in the sky. Haha!
 
Tyson ended up driving the ATV all the way back. He drove like he'd been driving for years. Guess some value comes from those racing video games!

Once the tour ended, we were all ready to go back to the hotel and relax by the pool. As soon as we got back, the boys ordered some chocolate banana shakes to sip poolside. Yum! As Tyson was sipping his drink, he glances around the pool and casually says “why is the pool infested with old people?” Then he makes up his own military chant ‘I don’t know but I’ve been told....people in the pool are super old.’ I nearly died laughing! 
 
Next to the pool is a volleyball court so we took a break from swimming to play some volleyball. The boys kept hitting the ball over by the pool nearly hitting some old folks trying to relax on their lounge chairs. We figured we should probably stop playing before we knock someone over and break a hip.
 
Later that evening we were excited for our boat tour to go firefly watching! Marshall grew up seeing them in the forests in Texas, but the boys and I had never seen a firefly before so were super excited. We cruised up to a tree along the river that was filled with hundred of fireflies and they were all flashing in sync. We didn't expect to see so many in such a small area. It truly was magical! A few would fly down to the boat and the boys actually caught a couple that had flown down and landed on them. So cool!

The next morning, we woke up and decided to start our morning with a paddle boarding tour down the Loboc River. Our guide was a local and had grown up fishing that same river. We enjoyed his stories giving us insight on the local Philippine culture and was asking us about life in the US as we paddled along. 

By the time we got back it was nearly time to check out of our hotel and continue our journey to the next place. We really enjoyed that area so we were bummed to leave but looked forward to see what was next. Along the long drive we stopped at a Tarsier Sanctuary. Tarsiers are little gremlin looking creatures about the size of an avocado. It was really cool to see them in person and in the 'wild' hanging out in the trees.
 
The next stop was Hinagdanan Cave. We climbed down a steep set of stairs trying not to hit our head on the low cave ceiling above. Once inside the cave, there is a huge natural pool you can swim in. The boys weren’t feeling like swimming so we just explored inside the cave. There were several souvenir shops out in throng of the cave that we strolled through afterwards. The boys all got a T-shirt and some sliced mangoes.

We continued driving toward our next hotel, passing through residential down random dirt roads making our way to the beach that our hotel was on. We parked the car and walked around trying to find it. We walked by what we thought was our hotel. It was so dingy with rust all around the outside and the pool water was poopy brown. It reminded me of me of somewhere the Grizwold’s would have stayed on the movie National Lampoon’s Vacation. There were some local fishermen all giving us the stink eye, not helping at all, so we decided to cut our loss and find a different hotel to stay the night at. This time with clear pool water at a minimum. I quickly researched hotels nearby as we drove around and booked a room at BE Grand Resort.
 
As soon as we checked in, they informed us that the water would be shut off between 5-8pm. Oh just lovely! But they said there would be an apology snack waiting in our room. No snack was there and just a foul smell instead. We quickly left the room to explore the rest of the hotel which ended up being really cool. There was a fun bungee trampoline by the beach that the boys enjoyed flipping around on. We then checked out their game room to play pool and table tennis before making our way to their beach front restaurant called Monkey Bar. We sat at a table facing the ocean that seat cushions on the ground instead of chairs. We had smoked chicken and brisket which was amazing! 
 
Shortly after we got back to our room, the water was turned back on, but we ran it for nearly an hour and it was brown the whole time. Ewwww!  Looks like we’ll be skipping showers and brushing our teeth with bottled water. Although this hotel was not the best experience, it was definitely better than the run down one that we ditched, lol.

​Bohol was quite the adventure, and we'd highly recommend it. As for our next stop, we were excited to check out yet another island in the Philippines!
 
Next stop: Cebu, Philippines

After an overnight layover in Manila, we hopped on a quick one-hour flight to El Nido on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. As we stepped out of the airport, we saw a line of trikes waiting to transport people to their hotels.  These trikes are basically motorcycles with big sidecar attachments and is the main source of transportation here. They were probably built to hold 1-2 people, but we’d come to find out they can hold MANY more (not so comfortably). We hired two trikes to take us and all our luggage on a bumpy ride to Cadlao Resort, a boutique beachfront property that faces the beautiful Cadlao Island.
 
The resort was stunning! This place has 37 Filipino style beach bungalow rooms and the most amazing ocean views.  As we waited for our room to be ready, we enjoyed a fresh fruit welcome drink and some tasty lunch at their oceanside restaurant. By the time we were done eating, our room was ready. We followed the receptionist down a zigzagged stone pathway to our very own bungalow. It had two separate bedrooms that faced the pool and a connecting bathroom in the middle. Perfect setup for families!

We all changed into our swimsuits and headed straight to the pool. The hotel has three of them, including an infinity pool with an amazing backdrop of the nearby islands. Absolutely breathtaking! After relaxing at the pool for a bit, we were eager to explore the town and grab dinner. We had a trike from the hotel drop us off at the edge of town then we strolled along the beach in search of a fun dinner spot. A restaurant we walked past had a live DJ playing some bumpin’ beats and had a great ocean view. Sold! We ordered a variety of small plates to share, all of which were delicious. The boys had a coconut water, straight out of a freshly cut coconut. They were really excited to try this, surprisingly for the first time. They didn’t like it to say the least, lol. Oh well, worth a try.

After finishing dinner and seat dancing to the jams, we walked back along a winding half-paved road  through some sketchy areas back to our hotel, stopping by a few little shops along the way to grab snacks for our boat tour the next day. They didn’t have any good options for food and we knew we were going to be on the boat ALL DAY. We ended up settling on their version of Ritz crackers, some pringles, and little sweet bananas we bought from a sweet old lady on the side of the road. We got to our hotel just in time for me to get a heavenly massage. Although they got a little too close to my butt crack for comfort, I still enjoyed every minute of it! Massages are dirt cheap here - only $20 for 75 minutes!

The following morning we had a full day boat tour planned which is the number one thing to do in El Nido. We realized we had to pay in cash and didn’t have Philippine pesos. We tried to explain this to our tour guide who spoke broken English, and he proceeded to walk us about a mile to the other part of town where the only open bank was located so we could convert some US dollars to pesos. Apparently, most places here don’t accept credit cards which is unfortunate because (of course) this is the moment we realized it’s the one and only time we’d forgotten our debit card at home and didn’t bring nearly enough cash with us for the rest of the trip. Ooops! We’re gonna need to get creative to figure out how to get more cash. We mentioned to the boys maybe they could put on a song and dance performance and put out their hat for tips….only to be met with rolled eyes and a grunt.
 
Once we converted our final little bit of USD into pesos and settling our bill, we were ready to board our boat along with our 3-man crew and head out on our private tour of some nearby islands. So excited! Let’s do this thang!! Our first stop was the big lagoon which is an absolute must-see! A local guy brought over two kayaks to our boat for us to hop on. Marshall and I shared one and our tour guide paddled the boys on the other. We paddled through the bright turquoise waters surrounded by massive and super sharp limestone cliffs on either side. The guide also led us through narrow cave tunnels and gorgeous lagoons while also being our personal photographer. What a guy!

​The next morning we took a trike to Corong Corong beach to enjoy some coffee at the Lazy Hammock Cafe. They have hammocks hanging from the ceiling everywhere. Such a cool spot to swing around while sipping coffee!
 
We walked along the beach and checked out a few clothing and souvenir shops before the boys spotted a small arcade that they had to check out. We exchanged a couple dollars worth of pesos for a bunch of tokens and then realized half the games weren’t working. Maybe the maintenance guy went on strike? All good, they still had fun for about half an hour. For a couple bucks, not bad!

Once we got back to our hotel, we ordered lunch poolside and spent a few hours playing in the pool. There was nobody else at the pool so the boys could do as many canon bombs as they wanted without annoying anyone. Perfect!

The boys were craving some ice cream to cool down from the heat so we strolled into town and stopped at the first ice cream shop we stumbled upon. It was so warm out, it was hard for them to finish their ice cream before it melted all over them. Luckily I was right beside them with a spoon to help them out!

Later that evening Marshall and I enjoyed a date night in the town right near our hotel while the boys enjoyed free time in the room. We got them settled with dinner and made sure they could call us from their iPads before hitting the town. As we were roaming the streets looking for a place to grab dinner, we stumbled upon a huge street food market. They were grilling all kinds of fresh meat including various local fish, squid, and even live lobsters. We weren’t super hungry so we just grabbed some fried rice and pancit noodles to share from a small restaurant. I realized after we left the restaurant that my phone was nowhere to be found. You’ve got to be kidding me! I panicked about the idea of not having a phone for the rest of the trip. We retraced our steps and eventually found it at a restaurant we had walked into earlier. Thank God!
 
Earlier in the day a local had recommended we check out Pangolin Cocktail Bar which had a live DJ that evening. We walked up a steep staircase to enter the bar and grabbed a corner window spot that overlooks the town. Looking down at the street reminded me of Bourbon Street, minus the beads and the weirdos, lol. This place was hoppin’ and had the best cocktails we’ve found so far on our trip! And low and behold, the DJ they had was the SAME DJ from the restaurant the other night. Guess he was the only DJ on the island or something? We didn’t mind, he played great music and kept the place bumpin’. We wished we could have stayed longer but needed to get back to the boys at a reasonable time.

The following morning we were on a mission to figure out how to get cash for the rest of the trip. We had tried everything and was about to ask a random person at our hotel if we could pay for their room and they give us the cash (which would have been EXTREMELY awkward). Then Marshall happened to find a Cash App card in his wallet that said ‘Visa Debit Card’ on the back. We got creative and reached out to one of Marshall’s friends and my brother to send us some funds on CashApp. After a few hours of trying to figure that out and convincing them we weren’t scammers, we were finally able to get the funds transferred and head to an ATM to try to withdraw cash. Thank God their ATMs accept Cash App cards and we were able to get some cash! Tip for anyone traveling to the Philippines – bring plenty of cash along with a debit card in case you need more!