Frannywanny

Last October 2022 was a memorable month. Apart from the fact that it's the birth month of my adorable twins, it was also the month when I bid my close-to-four-year-long stint at theAsianparent goodbye and took a 3 week long break to recharge before I joined my current company -- Profriends. I embraced this break with glee as this doesn't come often. Not wanting to waste time, Paul and I decided to take the twins on their first out of the country trip since 2020. They've travelled to Taiwan and to Singapore before but since the pandemic, they've been stuck at home for 3 whole years. We didn't want to tire ourselves out as well with planning and navigating around an unfamiliar land so Singapore just made perfect sense as it's our second home. We went there with the most flexible itinerary that I've ever created. Basically, our objectives were simple: Meet our friends/family, EAT, check out the theme parks in JB and in Sentosa, EAT, relax and revisit our favor...

It's no secret that I am a big foodie traveler. This is also one of the reasons why Frannywanny.com came about. For the past decade, I've been sharing with you my travel adventures which leans mostly on the restaurants and food hops that Paul and I would come across in whatever destination we'd be in. I also got to admit that I am also a luxury traveler. By that, I mean I tend to be very picky when it comes to my choice of airline, hotel and mode of transportation. Comfort is always my top priority. After all, we travel to recharge and feel rejuvenated right? Singapore Airlines has been my top choice of airlines since I used to shuttle back and forth Singapore and Manila for four years. I realized that the cost of flying via Singapore Airlines is not that far from our local budget airline and if this means getting an extra legroom, bigger seats, a hot delicious meal and a wide selection of in-flight entertainment as I fly to and from Singapore, then I'm totally fo...

I'm back! Missed me? :P  I know I haven't been blogging as regularly as I used to before but that doesn't mean I haven't been eating as much anymore. Haha! Rest assured, I'm still eating my way around town and I promise to share all my stories with all of you soon. Meanwhile, I recently flew to Manila to spend a fun and relaxing weekend with family. One of the things that I love about traveling is being able to check out the airport lounges while waiting to board. I tell you, having the access to airport lounges is something I'm extremely thankful about as I just hate waiting and this is the perfect remedy for impatient travelers like me. For this trip, I chanced upon SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 2 of Changi Airport. I had to do some last minute work so I made sure that I chose a lounge with a nice workstation where I can be productive for an hour and a half before I fly home. I'm also quite paranoid about being left behind by the plane so I narr...

*sponsored post* Living in the digital age, I've come to appreciate the ease and convenience of the internet. People may say it's an addiction but really, time has change and its no longer the concept of being online just to play but rather being online to easily be reached by friends and family, to have access to information immediately and to make your life way way way easier. Much more when you live miles away from home. Having a fast-speed internet connection has really been a big help to ease all those sudden bouts of homesickness. It has allowed me to be updated on the daily happenings back home and vice versa. Somehow, technology and communication has narrowed the ocean-wide distance between me and my family. Since I've moved to the Lion City, I have kept two sim cards. One for me to use locally and another (my trusty Globe sim) for me to use when I'm in Manila. That said, I have pretty much mastered the art of switching sim cards from my phone at recor...

After a year of no new travels aside from our regular trips between Manila and Singapore, Paul and I finally got back to our yearly travel routine. Yahoo! Normanton Kids in Cambodia A few months ago, we joined the NKids for our first ever out of the country trip to Cambodia ! Planning started months in advance where C and I took charge of researching and coordinating with our very reliable tour guide David. It was a 5 days trip where we flew to Phnom Pehn and headed directly to Siem Reap where we spent 3 wonderful days and later went back to Phnom Pehn again for a full day before flying back to Singapore. With David handling all the on-ground logistics, this has made our itinerary so smooth flowing and totally stress-free.  This is the start of my Cambodia Travel Series where I shall tell you about the different sites that we were able to visit around Phnom Penh .  For most of my readers who probably have read my past travel entries, you may have noticed tha...

....and I'm back! Did you all missed me? :)  Just kidding, I know I was just away for the weekend. To celebrate this year's Valentine's Day, which was also to make up for our non-existent one last year, Paul and I decided to go on a quick weekend getaway to Batam in Indonesia . Prior to living in Singapore, I have to admit that I never have heard of Batam and have always associated Indonesia with either Bali or Jakarta. Thanks to a number of ferry services operating between Singapore and Indonesia, we were able to get to Batam in less than an hour via Wavemaster Ferry . How silly of me to think that we will be taking a small boat going to Batam similar to one that goes down the Singapore River. Of course, Paul pointed this macho-looking ferry boat which is also known as a fastcraft . Take a look inside, the seats are surprisingly very comfy. Unfortunately, our ride going to Batam was incredibly bumpy making me seasick. I was way much better during the ride bac...

Now that we're on the topic of staycations and traveling, let me talk about one travel item that Paul loves very much -- meet the Xplore Vacuum Bag . While we have been traveling for almost half a decade now, it was only during our Honeymoon that Paul had his first hand experience of how it really is when you travel with a woman. Since we went on a two-week-long overseas trip, I had to make sure that I brought all the necessary items and that means the right amount of clothes, shoes, accessories, toiletries and more. Needless to say, my things alone took up 80% of our luggage space while he had all the things that he thinks he just needs in the remaining 20%. Year on year, packing has always been our main traveling issue. He would ask me to minimize on my jeans, tops and all other items while I would also negotiate for this and that. Note that we never went beyond the allowable luggage weight but I guess our things are just too bulky that it fills up our luggage right away. This ...