Power Couple Travels to ANGKOR WAT

Power Couple Travels to Angkor Wat

This video is wayyyy long overdue! I have tons of backlogged videos and I just thought of sharing them to you anyway, no matter how long it has already been. I'm just taking my sweet time editing them as I know it will still be as helpful as it was back then.

We arrived to Siem Reap by bus all the way from Bangkok, so if you want to watch how to cross the Thailand-Cambodia border by bus, you can watch the video HERE.

So anyway, when we arrived to our guesthouse at 6PM that day, there was a tuk-tuk driver outside waiting and we casually asked him how much it would take for him to take us to Angkor Wat. His name was Jim and he told us that he would charge us USD 18 for a whole day tour. Deal done, and we had an early night to prepare for a whole day's adventure the next day.

We woke up at 4AM and prepped up for the day. We made sure that all the batteries of our phones and gadgets are all charged up as Angkor Wat is far from the Siem Reap. The tuk-tuk driver was right outside when we got out, and we felt a little underdressed as our driver was all dressed nicely in a long-sleeved shirt and black slacks. LOL!

The wind was freezing cold as we tread down the highway up to the suburbs and into the Angkor City. We arrived there around 5AM and the jam to the ticketing booth was already bad and the cue for the tickets was already long - mainly because the best time to go there is during sunrise. We didn't have the chance to buy the ticket the day before but it would be a great move to do that if you have ample time.

Now since we've been reading blogs and watching travel videos, we know that the tour to Angkor Wat won't be done in just a day. So instead of taking the 1-day pass at USD 25, we opted for the 3-day pass for USD 40 each. Their ticketing system is great and your ticket could well serve as a personalized souvenir ID, too, because you'll have your photo taken in the booth and put it on your ticket.

After securing for tickets, the tuk-tuk drove us again to where we should be starting - right opposite the Angkor Wat facing the sunrise. It was freezing that morning and soon enough, it started to drizzle a little bit. The sun didn't shine majestically as expected and it was all cloudy. When the drizzle turned into rain, we all ran to the food stalls to wait up. There were different stalls there named after famous movies and Hollywood celebrities. We had our light breakfast in a stall named after a famous Hollywood actress and Tomb Raider herself, Angelina Jolie.

When the rain finally stopped, we got out to the same spot where we left off to take more photos. I was approached by a girl and told me that since I was wearing shorts, I won't be allowed to get in the temple premises as there's a dress code. So I went to a clothes stall and bought a colorful sarong. Forgot how much I haggled for the price but it became the trademark of our Angkor Wat trip!

We actually didn't know how humongous the place was until we got there. We thought it's just an area where temples are right next to each other. It is an entire city, dude! That's why it's wise enough to book a tuk-tuk for the whole day to make your life easier.

You can see how we explored Angkor Wat in our Angkor Wat travel video below, followed by a slideshow of the awesome photos! Please watch, like, comment on our video and SUBSCRIBE TO OUR Youtube channel: Power Couple Travels. Hit the notification bell to get notified of our new uploaded videos. ENJOY!!!

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SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS:

Best Way To Explore A City Is On A Scooter | Ayutthaya, Thailand

Wat Chaiwatthanaram on sunrise   

On our second day in Ayutthaya, we didn't waste much time as we started hitting the road on our rented scooter before sunrise to catch the beautiful sunrise at the Angkor-Wat look-alike which is situated outside the old walled-city of Ayutthaya which was Wat Chaiwatthanaram. The view was surely spectacular but some parts of the temple were being reconstructed so there were lots of elements that were unphotographable. Some beautiful images that we saw on Google were taken from the other side of the river, but that would mean another 30-minute scooter ride if we have chosen to do so. There was also an unforgettable incident that happened here, I dropped my iPhone and it had a bad landing so it was left with couple of dents. And yes, THAT was an unforgettable major incident for a techie like me. Obviously. LOL.

The Thai scaled version of Cambodia's Angkor Wat

Then we went on to a Unesco World Heritage Site called Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This temple was more touristy as a few tour groups were there at that time and though the area was huge, half of it was all ruins.

The ruins at Wat Phra Si Sanphet

Stretching at Wat Phra Si Sanphet

Then we headed on to the farthest temple from the city center and the less touristy one, which was Wat Maheyong. The place was empty and felt a bit creepy with just the two of us roaming around it.

Our trusty rented scooter

WATCH THE VIDEO!

Power Couple Travels and Gets Lost in Pai

NEW VIDEO IS RE-UPLOADED!!!

Pai is one of the must-see places in Northern Thailand. It has a lot of beautiful sceneries and tourist spots. In this episode, we checked out Pai Canyon, strolled along Pai Walking Street, and literally got lost in Pai.

Power Couple Travels is giving away 1 souvenir keychain to our subscribers, just comment on our Youtube video and share this video with hashtag #PowerCoupleTravels and you'll get a chance to win this week's Kuala Lumpur Keychain giveaway!

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaSPlfhI978IaGZs-q2eUA?sub_confirmation=1 

Exploring Tham Lod Caves in Mae Hong Soon, Thailand

Before we reached the town proper of Pai, we went to one of the amazing caves in the whole of Thailand called THAM LOD CAVE.

Since it was very accessible for a cave, a lot of of tourists have been drawn into it, except when the waters are high during heavy rain.

Exploring inside it was easy as the bamboo raft takes us to one cave after another and there were steps installed. But we encountered a snake along the way, and I was really shaken because it was my first encounter of a snake in real life! Watch this informative video.

Power Couple Travels to Pai, Thailand

Pai Memorial Bridge

Our Thailand adventure continues on as we hit the road from Chiang Mai to go to the small town up to the northwest of Thailand called PAI. The journey took 3 hours from Chiang Mai and along the way, we stopped by some great spots.  

Getting on the wooden ferris wheel

Wooden Ferris Wheel at Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint

First, we stopped by a local restaurant to try a local Thai noodle soup called 'Khao Soi' which was amazingly filling and yummy. Since we are light eaters, it was enough for lunch. Apparently, it's a dish that's only widely available in Northern Thailand.

Our fave Thai noodle Khao Soi

Then along the way, we stopped by at the Doi Kiew Lom Viewpoint where you can see an amazing view of Pai. There were lots of backpackers and tourists in that little park up there, taking photos and taking turns in riding the wooden ferris wheel. It was quite a challenge getting on it and making it turn manually with the help of other friends. We also met a French guy named Michel Saint Martin who was currently traveling around the world with his wife in their mobile home.

Michel Saint Martin traveling the world in his mobile home

And finally, we dropped by the historical Pai Memorial Bridge which was built by the Japanese during the World War II. It has its own history and it was such a delight to see a Thai guy dressed in soldier uniform, greeting all the tourists, and posing for photos. His name is Kaptan Koboli (Captain Koboli) and he even has his own Facebook page.

Pai Memorial Bridge

Sars with Kaptan Koboli

Marl at the Pai Memorial Bridge

Check out the video below.

Surprising Friends in Kuala Lumpur

We love surprises... and doing surprises. But believe me when I say that in this day and time, surprises become rare as it's more easy to find out about someone or something with just a few clicks and tap on your phone, be it on social media or chatting app.

So after 3 months in Sri Lanka, we needed to exit the country to somewhere where we can standby should we need to go back to Colombo again. Instead of going back to Manila and avoid the hassle of leaving our beloved country again, we chose to go to Kuala Lumpur without our friends knowing about our secret trip. Well except for our godmom Nanay Susana who always let us stay in her house.

So in this video, you will see the fun we had surprising all our friends. Haha! Enjoy!

GANGARAMAYA TEMPLE in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Gangaramaya Temple is one of the most visited places in Colombo and the most visited temple in town. Lots of devotees and tourist would flock in the temple, most especially on their religious days like Poya or Vesak. It is walking distance from Shangri-La Colombo where we stay and it is right in the middle of a busy business district in the city.

The temple compound is quite big to explore and you will surely find some interesting stuff around. The interior is amazing and the whole temple is instagrammable! Check out the new video below!

First Train Trip in Sri Lanka

If you look up on the things to do when you're in Sri Lanka, one of the items listed is to ride the train - if you're adventurous enough. Why? Well, first and foremost, trains get really congested especially during rush hours because it's one of the cheapest transportation, aside from buses.

And in my very own experience, it's really one for the books but would only recommend it if you don't mind getting shoved, pushed, and ogled at. I have seen a lot of travelers and backpackers doing one of their bucket list stuff to do once you're onboard the train - which is to hang outside of the train which is a very dangerous move and I would never recommend unless you're a daredevil - or should I say, stubborn - like me.

Anyway, it was definitely fun to do this train trip with our friends Ian, Nico, Nicole, Penny, and Morgan. Check out this video below:

Cameron Highlands Adventure 1: TBS to Tanah Rata

I've always wondered what's so special about Cameron Highlands (CH). I have always thought that they only have tea plantation view, which looks a little less magnificent in the online photos than the Banawe Rice Terraces in the Philippines. That's what I thought.

So last week, hubby has been itching to do some traveling again. Yes, that's what we always did in Beijing before where we would always go somewhere every Sunday whenever possible. And he said, "Let's go and check out Cameron Highlands". So despite my slight hesitation, I found myself booking our bus tickets online and hubs was researching on some basic info about our destination. After our Saturday night gig at work, we packed lightly and tried to get some rest. So here's what happened...

January 24, 2016 Sunday @ Terminal Bas Sepadu (TBS)

After our Saturday night work, I managed to get more than 2 hours of sleep, but hubs didn't. We set our alarm at 6AM to give us enough time to have light breakfast and prepare. I have also taken Bombom, my soft toy dog, with me. I booked for an Uber ride and we reached the bus terminal called TBS (Terminal Bas Sepadu) in Cheras at 7:15AM. This was the 3rd time we've been to the station and I have always admired TBS for being clean and orderly, just like an airport. Or maybe because we have always taken early morning trips to Penang so there wasn't always too much people in the station yet. They also have convenience store and a big digital board about bus departure/arrival just like an airport has. And that's awesome!

The departure area in the lower ground is crowd-controlled as we weren't allowed by the guard to go down, not until 30minutes before our bus ride. Fair enough. Bus arrived 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time to pick up passengers and left on the dot at 8AM. I only had 2 hour sleep after our Saturday night gig, but hubs didn't get any sleep at all. Half an hour later, I found myself nudging against hub when his snore gets a little loud. But another half an hour later, I found myself joining hubs in snoring harmoniously inside the bus. The bus stopped once somewhere in Ipoh for a toilet break but I didn't budge from my comfortable sleeping position. I woke up while the bus was already working its way up to the zig zag road going to the Highlands. I was enjoying the sceneries and just took videos as much as I could.

I thought the trip would only be 3 hours. But we reached the town proper by Tanah Rata by 11:50AM so that makes the trip actually 4 hours. Luckily, the bus station is situated infront of the long stretch of commercial shops of restaurants, massage centers, tourist information centers, offices, and budget hotels. We just had a quick bihun goreng and since we didn't book a room ahead, we just scouted for an available accommodation in different budget hotels, but most of the small rooms available didn't have windows for ventilation. Until we reached Camellia Budget Hotel. They didn't have a reception desk as other hotels do, but instead - as Marl has read on TripAdvisor - we inquired from the cashier in the mini mart who then ushered us on the floor above and showed us the available room with a window. Surprisingly, it's already acceptable for RM100 with twin beds, a clean toilet, a TV, and an electric fan (it's cold enough in Cameron Highlands - no need for an aircon).

We wanted to see as much as we could but since we arrived quite late, most tours couldn't accommodate us anymore. And one uncommon thing about Cameron Highlands is you cannot just simply hail a taxi cab on the street but instead, they have designated taxi stands around the city. So after checking in and leaving some of our stuff in the room, we started walking back to the bus station to look for a taxi to go to strawberry and cactus farms, or whatever we can see in Brinchang. The driver charged us for a fixed price of RM25 - which I consider quite a rip-off.

Check out the photos that my hubby Marl took.

At last, this way long overdue trip has finally materialized! We took our 8AM bus from TBS to go to Cameron Highlands. We reached Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands' town proper, at 11:45AM. That's almost 4 hours!
Posted by Mar Silverio on Monday, January 25, 2016

Chillaxing in Tianjin

Faye, Ronnie, Mar, Sarita, Elaine, Grace & Sam at Wei Ha Pub

It has been almost two months since we got back in Beijing but we haven't done our Sunday trips yet. Besides, we have loads of stuff to do even during our offdays. Okay, I'm just a bit exaggerrating. :-)

Our friends Sam, Faye, and Ronnie from Tianjin have already visited us in Beijing couple of times during the past few weeks. So I called our other friends Grace & Elaine and we made a plan to visit them in Tianjin instead.

A TOILET HUMOR

They have a new procedure in booking train tickets. They now need our passports so I wasn't able to buy a ticket for my friend Grace. She had to take a 2-hour bus trip to Tianjin while Marl and I took the bullet train to Tanggu, a municipality in TEDA, which is not in the main part of Tianjin City. 

We were supposed to meet Elaine in the train upon its stop at Tianjin. She was already in the queue but needed to pee so she went to the toilet. While she was doing her business in the toilet, she didn't know that the train had already arrived for its quick stop. When she got back to the queue, she didn't know she was already queuing for the next train. Needless to say, she was actually left by our train! LOL! So all her effort of waking up early to secure a ticket for the fast train and waiting for 2 hours in the station were all wasted. Well, not really. Because we now have some real 'toilet humor' to remember and laugh about. Thanks, Elaine! Hahahahaha!

RELAXING DAY BY THE BEACH

Faye and Sam picked us up from the station and Elaine just took the hard and more expensive way --- a 100-yuan taxi all the way from Tianjin downtown to where we would be spending a relaxing afternoon... Tianjin's man-made beach! As for us, we had to pay 100 yuan for the taxi from Tanggu train station to the beach. It's THAT far. 

We had to pay another 50 yuan each person to get into the man-made beach. The beach was kept clean and the fine golden sand, which was imported all the way from Australia (!) felt great against our bare feet. I find it really ripping expensive but it didn't matter at that time because all we wanted was to spend time with each other - under the sun. I wasn't even expecting to swim, didn't even bring a swimsuit. But what the heck, we already paid entrance fees! So Sam and I just bought cheap swimming shorts so we can take a dip in the water and just had sooooo much fun like kids wading in the beach! LOL! Marl, Elaine, and Faye just chitchatted while sitting in the sand and watching us playing in the water.

RENAISSANCE TIME

We went back to the hotel to rest while Sam, Faye, and Ronnie had to prepare for work since they had to sing on Sunday night. I had a satisfying nap while Marl, Elaine, and Grace went out to look for something to eat. I was just so so so tired. 

I got up at 9PM and took a shower and went down to the lobby to meet up with the rest of the pack and to watch my friends perform. I also took some of their performance videos. They finished very early - at 10:45PM!

SHOOT, POOL, PASTA, PIZZA & ICE CREAM

After their show, we went to Wei Ha Pub to grab some dinner. Marl have this photography project that he wanted to do with Sam as the model - or should I say, models? :) Click HERE to see their "Multiplicity" project. After their brief shoot, we all enjoyed talking over dinner of pasta and pizza. Oh, Sam and I played pool. I really miss playing pool!!!

Upon walking back to the hotel, we passed by at a concenience store and bought something to eat and drink - non-alcoholic ones of course. We all bought ice cream and enjoyed it while walking back to the hotel. Really fun bonding time with my friends!

CHUBBY BUNNY, DR. KWAK KWAK, ETC.

First thing we did when we got back in the hotel was make use of the marshmallows Sam bought. We did the very famous game 'Chubby Bunny' - where we would stuff in as much mallows in our mouths while saying "Chubby Bunny" in between. It was so funny and all had a great laugh about it!

We then started talking AGAIN about different stuff like our fear of cockroaches, gecko, rats, snakes, and experiences with those creatures. We also talked about how lucky kids are nowadays. Then we reminisced all our childhood memories in playing different games like piko, patintero, tex, tagu-taguan, Chinese garter, jumping rope, luksong tinik, luksong baka, etc! Then it got really interesting when Lola Ronnie reminisced the different exhibitions in the Jack-Stones game and Chinese Jack-Stones. We were laughing so hard and just had lots of fun sharing stories. Someone mentioned Doctor Kwak Kwak and Grace doesn't have an idea what that game was. So at 4AM, we played Doctor Kwak Kwak to show her how the game is. We really had a great laugh!

THE SECRET

Just before we all went to bed, I suggested all of us to watch The Secret, because couple of our friends haven't watched it. It just feels great spending a day of fun with friends. Just purely bonding and just plainly having fun. I already miss them! :-(

Watch out for our videos and more photos coming out soon! :-)

Fun at the beach with Mar, Sam, Elaine & Faye

Sam, Faye, Elaine & Me

Ice cream time with the special children LOL! :)

Ice Festival at Long Qing Gorge

This is one of our fun adventures during winter. We went to see the Ice Festival at Long Qing Gorge which is actually replica of the Ice Festival in Harbin City. Now people on this side of China wouldn't need to travel far to Harbin to experience it. It's just as good as the original. Anyway, we only want to have our photos taken with it.

The Ice Festival at the Long Qing Gorge is only open during January and February during winter. Why only during those months? Because the ravine (gorge) is actually a water dam during the rest of the year. In fact, there's a cruise boat there to enjoy the view of the ravine from April to November. I think they close the place in December to drain the water out and in April to put back water in it.

How we got there:
From Shangri-La Hotel Beijing, we paid RMB15 for the taxi to get to the Beijing North Railway Station. Took a train to Yanqing, paid RMB23 each. When we got to Yanqing station, there were lots of private cars for hire. We were able to bargain RMB30 for a one-way trip to the gorge. We booked the same private car to fetch us at a specified time since there are no taxis available there. We took a horse ride for 10 minutes and got ripped off for RMB50 each. Boo.

The entrance ticket for the Ice Festival was RMB100 each. We were fetched by the same driver and took us back to the train station, paid him RMB50 because we're happy with him. Then we bought tickets at RMB23 each and took the train back to Beijing North Railway Station. Taxi was around RMB13.

All in all, we spent RMB500 (around US$ 75) for this trip. And it was really all worth it (except for the horse ride).

Check out the some of our photos:

Now here's our fun adventure to Long Qing Gorge on video:

Our Great Wall of China Winter Adventure

This was our fun adventure at the Great Wall (Badaling). Although we have been to the other sections (see the video responses below) in the past, it was our first time to go to the Badaling section of the wall and most especially, lightly sprinkled with snow from the snowfall the night before. It was indeed a beautiful sight. Enjoy our fun adventure!


Check out these photos taken at the Great Wall during our trip:

 

Check out our fun video at the Great Wall of China:


Click HERE to view this on Youtube and see/write the comments!

New winter videos!

I have been doing a lot of digging up from my hard disks and have gathered lots of materials for my future video projects. And I believe that I have uploaded videos in my previous blog posts. But these videos below are most recent ones.

I thought spending Winter in Beijing would be one of the awful winters in my life. Cold weather, powerful statics, and all covered up body up until to the tip of my fingernails. But it turned out to be fun! Watch this video of me and hubby Marl, just walking around the hotel and enjoying the winter in the nearby park. See me riding the "icycle" and just being a kid all over again! :)



And if you haven't watched our Funny Ski Adventure video yet, watch it below!



But I highly recommend you watching this on my Youtube channel HERE!