Summer in New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western and was said to be the last lands to be settled by humans due to its remoteness.

(view from the plane)

Together with my mom, grandmother and elder sister we went to New Zealand to spend a one month vacation and to attend my cousin’s wedding. But before we were able to go to New Zealand we have to apply for a visa to enter. For information regarding who needs and does not need a visa you can click here and for some who wants to know the requirement you can click here.

The trip to New Zealand was rather long. We had one connecting flight from Hong Kong then a 10 hour flight going to New Zealand – Auckland, then another plane ride going to Wellington because that is where we are going to stay.

We rode Philippine Airlines going to Hong Kong Airport then Air New Zealand going to Auckland and Wellington.

(my boarding passes)

Since the flight going to New Zealand was super long (including the wait for the connecting flight) I was looking forward for the plane food. It was on the so-so side. We also had another meal during the flight from HK to Auckland. It just that I forgot to take a picture since I just woke up. I can't remember what we exactly had for the Auckland - Wellington flight but I was sure I had an OJ and chips plus their exclusive candies. :)

For best deals on tickets, always remember to book your flights in advance and check all possible airlines offering flights to your destination. Will post some more pictures of our NZ trip.

My Bucket List

1. Travel to PARIS!
2. Travel alone.
3. Run a 3k.
4. Run a 5k.
5. Witness a solar eclipse.
6. Ride a gondola in Venice.
7. Learn to ski in New Zealand.
8. Travel to Jakarta
9. Go skydiving
10. Get Engaged with the man I love.
11. Get married.
12. Become a parent.
13. Start a successful small business. (in process)
14. Learn to drive.
15. Go to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
16. Ride an elephant
17. See the Monalisa.
18. Attend Loy Krathong, the sky lantern festival in Thailand.
19. Set foot on each of the seven continents. Because it is said that only when someone has reached all seven then that's the only time you can truly call yourself a world traveler.
20. Go on safari.
21. Learn to play golf.
22. Dive with a whale shark.
23. Publish articles about your travels online (in process)
24. Learn another language.
25. Learn to play the piano.
26. Photograph an endangered species
27. Learn how to make a national dish
28. Attend a music festival in another country
29. Learn to surf.
30. Go parasailing in Acapulco.
31. Learn sign language.
32. Cross a country using only public transportation. See a country the way most of its people do: from the window of a bus, train, or ferry.
33. Stand at the North or South Pole
34. Meet the Dalai Lama.
35. Walk on fire.
36. Save someone's life.
37. Test drive a Ferrari.
38. Go shopping at Rodeo Drive.
39. Go on a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.
40. Go Bungee Jumping.
41. Go Zorbing in New Zealand.
42. Eat gumbo in New Orleans.
43. Climb up the Statute of Liberty.
44. Visit all 50 states of the United States.
45. Live in a foreign country for three months.
46. Go to Bali
47. Read all of Agatha Christie's mystery novels.
48. Fire a pistol.
49. Be at Time's Square for on New Year's Eve.
50. Go whale-watching.
51. Visit the Vatican in Rome.
52. Go to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.
53. Visit the Acropolis in Greece.
54. Go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
55. Ride a camel in the Sahara desert.
56. Watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
57. Go to Las Vegas.
58. See the Iguassu Falls.
59. Go to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.
60. Visit the Great Wall of China.
61. See Mount Rushmore.
62. Have a street named after you.
63. Be in a commercial.
64. Go to Disney World.
65. Be an extra in a movie.
66. Go on a cruise.
67. Swim in the largest swimming pool in the world, off the coast of Chile.
68. Re-learn how to play chess.
69. Learn to play poker.
70. Learn to juggle.
71. Learn to draw.
72. Solve a Rubik's Cube.
73. Take up gourmet cooking.
74. Sail around the world.
75. Become a wine connoisseur.
76. Restore a classic car.
77. Be known as the best in the world in something.
78. Discover what makes you truly happy.
79. Spend a week in silence.
80. Get an MBA.
81. Make the front page of the newspaper.
82. Donate blood.
83. Sell your original artwork to a stranger.
84. Become an art collector.
85. Start a blog.
86. See a koala bear.
87. Own a dog.
88. Go bird watching in Costa Rica.
89. Touch a dolphin.
90. Go to the Super Bowl.
91. Ride a motorcycle.
92. Visit every capital city in Europe
93. Travel to half of the countries that consists Southeast Asia (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)
94. Travel to half of the countries that consists East Asia (China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau)
95. Travel to Japan
96. Own a Million Pesos
97. Hold the Stanley Cup.
98. Participate in La Tomatina (a giant street food fight near Valencia, Spain).
99. Experience weightlessness.
100. Have my dream wedding

Love for Travel

I'm not sure how young I was when I first ride a plane. I think I was almost a year old. My parents can't remember when it was but they also think it was before or after I turned one but not more than one.

Below are pictures of me and my family while on board.

my sister, me and our dad

our mom, me and my sister (this is a not so cute picture. haha)

As a family we travel a lot. May it be by land, air or water. We would almost always have a weekend get away out of town just so that we would spend the weekends together. My dad was strict about having weekends especially Sunday as a family day wherein as much as possible we should not go anywhere or schedule anything with friends.

It was through my parents that I learned to love travelling. It is my stress reliever. Some of my friends would tell me that I spend to much travelling (other than shopping :) ). Then when I would ask them if they would like to go on a vacation with me they would always say that going out of the country is too expensive or would eat too much from their savings. So I make sure that in every trip I make whoever I'm with we would enjoy ourselves but it won't cost us an arm and a leg or at least spend within the budget I gave them.

Going back, the reason why me family travel a lot is because my parents wants to enjoy life while their young and while they can go anywhere they want. It is them who made me realize that it won't matter how much money you have and how hard you have worked if you can't enjoy it. So while you can never miss the opportunity to travel.