5X ACtive Travels in 2024

ACtive (Anneth & Crisanto: tandem in various escapades) resumed travelling together to 5 countries in 5 months. In Year 2024, we traveled very hard.

January - Khao Yai, Thailand

ACtive booked for a 4-day trip around Khao Yai, Thailand with an private car and a chauffeur, we called Mr. Pruun. He arranged all logistics, accommodations and itineraries for Anneth and me. We gleefully hopped from one tour stops and destinations to another, from flower parks to mango farm, from winery to windmills, from themed restaurants to themed parks... and enjoyed most especially the Thai cuisine.

It felt like Spring in this northeastern province of Thailand. Flower parks were in full colorful bloom. Farms were in harvest and planting moods. 

For ACtive, Thai Food is always good! Anneth and I enjoyed the servings in hotels, restaurants, and cafes. Our favorite recipes are Tom Yum, Pad Thai, Omelettes, and Mango Sticky Rice.

February - Sapa, Vietnam

Sapa, being popular to tourists, has intrigued the ACtive. Thus, Anneth and I decided to check on this town by the northwest region of Vietnam, in the province of Lào Cai. It is known to experience snow in winter. When we made our visit in February, the air was still chilly and foggy. I learned in this journey that culture and lifestyle, even food around here, are different from the rest of Vietnam. In fact, they do not serve Pho Noodle soup! The Cat Cat ancient village  and the Fansipan Peak are both unique and marvelous. This destination, being the 'Roof of Indochina", is simply remarkable.

Cat Cat Village

Fansipan Mountain Peak

Fansipan is a mountain in Vietnam which presently stands over 3000 masl. Nicknamed "the Roof of Indochina", reaching its heights may be easy but not for the faint-hearted. And the way up is through a series of cable car and funicular rides. The Peak is a theme park, with shops, restaurants, viewdecks, museum, temple, walkways, staircases, and cottages.

Glass Bridge

In 2024, ACtive is reaching new heights. We climbed the Fansipan Mountain Peak via cable car and the "Cloud Dragon Glass Bridge" via a glass elevator. At a height of over 2000 masl, Anneth and I dared to walk the bridge of transparent glass while screaming every time we felt the breeze. 

Moana Sapa

The mountainous Sapa let us experience the chill throughout the day. A morning while at Moana Sapa park, the fogs covered the valley. Atop the Fansipan Peak and the Rong May Glass Bridge, we felt more than a nip in the air especially when the wind blows. 

Sapa Town Center

May - East Java, Indonesia

In this nature-tripping, Ijen Volcano was our first destination. The early morning hike to reach and witness the electric-blue flame was the main goal. Anneth and I hiked to reach over 2700 masl mountain first then descend to the crater lake via the rocky path leading to the blue flame, which is only visible when it's dark.

Another day of nature tripping where Bromo Volcano was the destination. The tourist attraction however was more than that; the jeepney ride to the mountains to catch the sunrise, the photoshoot by the Sea of Sands, the long walk on the black sand, and the climb to the Bromo Volcano crater filled our morning. 

To cap the day of adventure, we trekked to and soaked ourselves at the Madakaripura Waterfalls, which water curtains are majestic.

In this side of the world, Summer is endless. While the night may be chilly, the heat rises with the sun during the day. Both Anneth and I were Southeast Asian, the weather here is natural to us. We liked the heat from the blue flame during the chilly dawn, enjoyed sunny sky when we hiked to and from the volcanos, and loved the drench from the waterfall. 

Anneth and I generally prefer nature in all our adventures together. Spending a 4-day nature tour in Ijen (hike to and from the volcano crater and see the blue flame),  Bromo (jeepney ride around the black sands, the view of the sunrise, and the climb to the volcano crater), and Probolinggo (trek to the waterfall and getting soak under the water curtains) really summed it all up. 

Anneth and I stayed at Holiday Inn in Surabaya one night on the last day of the 4-day nature tour in East Java, Indonesia. As usual, we had food tripping for dinner and breakfast. And one memorable thing was when our grab car destination was pinned wrongly to domestic airport, instead of international airport.

June - Surigao, Philippines

The ACtive duo visited our hometown in the first week of June 2024. We did the usual hiking every morning, enjoying the beach and the hills tugging along some family members, neighbors and friends. We did the current trend of coffee hopping, which has only become available in this generation; not yet when we were kids.

November - Bhutan

Within the Happiest Country, Thimphu is the biggest city. Here, we stayed at Seven Suites which served delicious food, trekked from Buddha Dordenma, crossing the Kuenselphodrang Nature Park, to Changangkha Temple, visited the zoo of animal species endemic to Bhutan, and witnessed archery at Changlimithang Grounds.

While in the Happiest Country, Punakha was the last minute insertion in our itinerary. ACtive agreed with the tourguide, Karma, and driver, Kinley, to visit this culturally rich city. Here, we dropped by Dochula Pass memorial, visited Chimi Lhakhang the famous temple of fertility, met a local artist and bought some of his paintings, and enjoyed the vast grounds of Punakha Dzong.

Paro is the entry and exit point to and from the Happiest Country. So we spent our first and last day in this city where we visited temples and museum, and trekked the way to the ultimate destination of this ACtive tour - Tiger's Nest Monastery. It is really a wonder why and how they put together a beautiful architecture beside a cliff over 3000 masl, and older people already in their 70s climbing to reach it.

Bhutan experienced 4 seasons. It was during the Fall (or Autumn) when we visited the country. The weather during the day, ranging from 11 to 14 degrees, was bearable but it plunged to as low as 8 to 0 degrees at night until early morning. 

Although Anneth and I have low tolerance to cold, we decided to finally put a checkmark on this long-standing travel bucketlist. 

Bhutan has successfully created and preserved their own world - a world for a unique cultural immersion and a lifestyle almost free of foreign influence. It has high respect to nature, religion, and humanity. (Kalibutan in ACtive's native dialect means world.) 

Thus Bhutan imposed a large sum of sustainable development fee for foreign tourists to help sustain and preserved the essence of the country and people. In every Buddhist temple, shoes has to be taken off before entry and no photos allowed inside. Statue of Penis or "Phallus", as a symbol of fertility, is greatly honored in the name of their Saint of Fertility and thus ubiquitous and displayed in conspicuous places. Anneth and I have immersed ourselves into Bhutanese culture for 4 days. From people's hospitality, tourist spots, to food servings, it was such an amazing experience.

November - Bangkok, Thailand

ACtive returned to Thailand for 2 overnight stays on our way to and from Bhutan. It was a DIY tour where we arranged hotels and tours ourselves. We stayed one night in Baiyoke Sky Hotel and another in Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel. We enjoyed a visit to Erawan Museum, a coffee + cake in a themed Unicorn Cafe, and a full course lunch at Feuang Nara Restaurant.