Siem Reap

is the "place we haven't been to before" vacation of 2013. We agreed that we will try our best to visit one "new place" every year, and there happened to be a great deal on airfare to Siem Reap (only 3,500 per person, yay!) so off we went to have a delayed celebration for Dennis' birthday.

And it turned out to be one of our favorite vacation spots. SR has a good mix of enough places to see and visit, and not too many distractions that will make you feel like sitting idly in a cafe and people-watching would be a waste of vacation time. It was a very chill kind of place, and we loved it! I think this was our most well-rested vacation, where upon arrival to Manila, we did not feel like we needed another vacation to recover from the vacation we just went on.

Food is cheap and good. The place is safe for tourists and there are many hotel options that don't break the bank (ours was a 4-star hotel at only $60 per night with so many free inclusions like free round-trip airport transfers, free laundry, free minibar, free breakfast & free room upgrade!). Shopping is a bit limited though, but the nice ones that are worth your dollars are also quite affordable. Tuktuks everywhere also make going around easy.

And of course, the reason one would go to SR would be to see the biggest religious complex in the world and one of the Wonders of the World - the Angkor Wat complex. It IS a must-see, at least once in your lifetime. It's marvelous how the complex was put up and how it remains so well-preserved until this day.

In fact, the Philippines can learn so much from SR. They maintained their best features / sites so well, and they take care of their tourists. Even their airport can kick all of our 3 NAIA's butts. Tsk tsk. To think this country just completely ended civil war about 12 or so years ago, and how well they have recovered and gotten back up. Galing!

So yes, visit Siem Reap when you can! :)

Mom-in-waiting

Both my sisters in law were briefly pregnant and are now both not pregnant anymore. One had a chemical pregnancy so wasn't technically pregnant, but hey a conception is a conception, regardless of whether or not it was able to implant. My other sister in law had a more painful experience -- getting confirmed to be pregnant, hearing the heartbeat, being told to go on bedrest then finding out that the baby no longer had heartbeat on its 8th week. I am only observing from the outside but even I felt immense sadness and can only imagine the pain of hearing the heartbeat only to have it taken away. I don't even want to think about it. How can a baby be there one second and be gone the next?

That's why sometimes I wonder if I am better off in my current situation of not having anything happen at all, rather than fall pregnant, be over the moon about it, get all excited and hopeful, only to come crashing down to earth. 

Then again, I guess all this is still worth it to go through, if only to learn from the experience, have a better chance next time and hopefully be able to give birth to a bouncing, beautiful baby. 

To each her own path, I guess. 

I pray for all broken-hearted moms-in-waiting. 

:-/

Trying not to be too let-down, even if we did get a tip already before to manage expectations. It's just so tough. 

I wish. 

I wish many things. 

Oh well.

Halfway through 2013

It's July 1, so that means we just passed the halfway mark through 2013. Lots to look forward to : Siem Reap in July, China in September, Bangkok in October and Baguio again in December. We would've added another trip in August but well, that didn't work out hehe. Also look forward to my husband pursuing hjs acqdemic plans-- which I prefer and support over the foreign-service idea before. Then before we know it, the year will be over and it'll be 2014! How fast!