Cruisin' in February - Reading Ruffolos

Whenever we get the chance, Jeff and I travel. And when we travel, we go all out.

We don’t like to be rushed. We take our sweet time. We go to places not many people go to just because we want to avoid the crowd and create experiences that one cannot just google and copy. We want to have unique life experiences in our travel; memories that we go back to in times when we don’t like each other or just hate each other’s guts for certain reasons.

I love having Jeff as a travel companion because he loves to work on logistical plans and works on every detail of the trip to a “T” while leaving some room for spontaneous happenings.

Before we met, we already traveled as individuals. I was the flashpacker/backpacker who can sleep and eat just about anywhere; while he was the one who checks in five-star hotels and flies business, if not, first class.

We traveled to Europe in February 2014 so for February 2015, we decided to go on a cruise onboard Royal Caribbean and explore countries in Southeast Asia.

While planning our travel itinerary to the Philippines to leave the children under the care of my Mom and two nannies we hired in advance, Jeff and I realized that I need to leave early in February because my Chinese visa was expiring. The plan was for me to fly from Guangzhou to Manila then Cebu (Philippines) with Antoinette. Then, Jeff and Nick will follow a week after traveling from Guangzhou to Hong Kong to Cebu.

The exact travel flow happened like this:

For Cris and Antoinette: Guangzhou to Manila to Cebu
For Jeff and Nicholas: Guangzhou to Hong Kong to Cebu
In Cebu: Jeff and Cris meet and get ready for SE Asian trip.
Cebu to Singapore for a two-day Singapore visit before boarding M/V Mariner of the Seas
Singapore – Thailand for a temple run
Thailand – Vietnam for God knows what (I hated this part of the trip because one of our fellow passengers got robbed in Ho Chi Minh City)
Vietnam – Singapore
Singapore – Malaysia on a bus, which made Jeff really upset with me because he had to endure the six-hour ride to Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur – Guangzhou via AirAsia and we arrived on the eve of Chinese New Year – and it was a spectacular sight to see the beautiful fireworks as the plane was landing. We spent 10 days in China without the twins. You can just imagine how weird that was without little people walking across the hallway.
Guangzhou – Hong Kong again on a train around early March.
Hong Kong – Cebu for a Cebu Pacific flight back to the Philippines to pick up the twins. Of course, you know what happened already. I got robbed on March 8 so instead of flying back to Hong Kong on March 9, I was stuck there for more than two months.

Our February travel ended eventfully. I can say that with much passion. We visited a lot of places, met a lot of people, watched several movies, and generally enjoyed our time together as a couple. In the cruise ship, Jeff met the executive sous chef, who is a Filipino, who made two great Filipino dishes (adobo and sinigang) for me! I enjoyed it very much. I was already pregnant during this trip and it really helped that I had a taste of home while we were out on sea for two weeks.

I always believe that a couple should spend time with each other because it is very important for the family’s well-being. They say that “a happy wife makes a happy life”. I say: To avoid trouble, don’t forget that you’re a couple. ”

Have fun! Have a date night or day whenever you get the chance. Don’t even let the children stop you from spending time with each other. It doesn’t need to be expensive. Save up for big purchases like a plane ticket. Plan at least one major trip annually.

Here are some photos from that wonderful trip I mostly enjoy because of my travel companion named Jeff.