9 iconic travel locations to visit after the covid-19 pandemic

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic has affected lives all over the globe, including ours and millions of people wishing to travel and visit iconic travel locations and wonderful destinations.

While the pandemic definitely had the most devastating impact on informal economies (particularly “no work, no pay” jobs and hand-to-mouth income brackets), the global aviation and tourism industry has also taken the economic brunt.

To get us through our collective travel deprivation despair, here’s some iconic travel locations (some quite obvious and some less known) you might want to add to your post-pandemic “revenge travel” bucket list (or even “religious places to visit”, as it turns out) once we take to the skies as borders reopen and the world is safe again.

The Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral are both found in Paris, France. The French capital is also referred to as the City of Love, undoubtedly due to the romantic feeling one can experience while walking along the River Seine and looking at all the gorgeous architecture.

Fotofolio: Postcards from Prague

Praha! Praha! Praha!

Prague is such a picturesque city–charming, romantic, and a real gem from the old world.

As the capital of Czech Republic, Prague was the centre of the Kingdom of Bohemia and was home to many Holy Roman Emperors (cue soundtrack of the many medieval and historical dramas I love to watch).

Prague was founded during the Romanesque Era and continued to thrive and prospere during the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. I don’t know much about history and architecture but you can see different types of these buildings while walking around Prague.

5 ways to enjoy Hong Kong Disneyland without going broke

Welcome to Hong Kong Disneyland, the happiest place on earth!

Finally, you’re about to make your childhood dream come true and meet Mickey and the gang, dance with the princesses, play with Woody and Alan, watch Lion King live, and sing and dance with Moana and Maui! As a bonus, you can also see Iron Man in the, well, iron and hide out in the Star Wars rebel base with R2D2 and Chewbacca!

Festival of the Lion King show (Adventureland) at Hong Kong Disneyland @rigorism Instagram

All is well right?! Only, what they don’t tell you is that Hong Kong Disneyland is the most expensive attraction in Hong Kong, both for the tickets and during the time you’re happily trapped inside (for maximum of 11 hours).

Hong Kong to Macau by Bus (trough the HKZM Bridge)

Did you know that it’s possible to travel from Hong Kong to Macau by bus in 30 minutes? Yes, it’s the cheaper option too! This land travel is made possible through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZM Bridge or HKZMB) which officially opened in October 2018.

Crossing the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge via bus. Photo credit @sunnidaez Instagram

We’ve been living in Hong Kong for almost two years now and I have used the bridge crossing twice. Before that, it took our family three hours to get from our door in Tung Chung, Lantau Island, Hong Kong to the famed Senado Square in Macau via the usual ferry options. With the HKZM Bridge, this travel was cut in half (yes, including the immigration clearances and actual travel time) and the expenses were cut by 60%.

Video of the bus crossing the HKZM Bridge by @sunnidaez Instagram

The HKZM Bridge is a 55-kilometer-long bridge which connects the two administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau to Zhuhai in southern Guangdong, and in effect, to mainland China.

#100Days Photo 44: Chillin’ & Cruisin’ at Lake Pandin, San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines

E and Baby T having a moment (while we all were eating!)

We’ve always talked about going to Lake Pandin but it was only two Saturdays ago that we finally did. And it was a good decision to head out of Manila and venture to San Pablo in Laguna for a much-needed nature trippin away from the concrete jungle. I’ve heard about Lake Pandin from some friends and thought, it could be a good easy-breezy day trip. Imagine, a two-hour raft ride with a picnic lunch of fresh food prepared by men and women from the community. And it was. The 10-15-minute walk from the parking lot to the lakeshore was a good appetizer for our lunch of rice, grilled tilapia and chicken, fern (pako) salad with salted egg, butter garlic (mini) shrimps, bananas, pineapples and coconut water! A bit of swimming here, a bit of jumping there, a lot of eating and more of chatting — such a chill time! And baby-friendly too! I fully recommend for y’all to try going to this trip (except during really rainy days as the trek path might be too muddy/slippery) not just for the good lunch and scenery, but also to support local ecotourism at Lake Pandin.