Mabuhay, whatshap por yu!?

It’s been a while mga beh but heto nanaman po tayo sa mga talak series ko and this time, I will make chika about my latest lamyerda… Belgium!

From the usual flying, we tried to explore our options- in short, kung saan mas makakatipid! Honestly, the flights at the time would cost around £120 each and hindi pwede yang mga ganyang ganap! We also went to see if we could hop on a train instead but it would cost aroung £80-90 each and I still found it a bit pricey. I was aiming for around the £50-60 range so mega hanap si auntie until, tiiiiing! I had a revelation char! Why don’t we just drive?

Driving from England (Port of Dover) to France (Calais or Dunkirk)

I learned na you could do this two ways: drive yourself through the Euro Tunnel or ride the ferry (RORO levels) and just start driving when you get to the other side. The first one did sound appealing cause it’s much faster BUT it’s a £120 charge (for two na to so pasok na sa banga). The latter naman, would take us 2 hours to cruise the English channel BUT, it would only cost us a tumataginting na SEBENTY SEBEN POUNDS ONLY! Oh di ba? Winner! The catch though, is that when you’re driving around EU, there are certain requirements like making sure your insurance covers that country and that you have mandatory equipments that is available in your car (fire extinguisher, hazard jackets, road triangles, etc) which you can buy a complete pack in Halfords.

The are also buses from London to Belgium/France/Netherlands which is also cheaper but of course would take around 8 hours or more. Worth a try for some who don’t mind.

The English Channel

There were actually a variety of ferries to choose from but I opted for the DFDS company. Just make sure that you book on their actual website cause when I compared with like a travel site, they do have the same initial price pero tadtad sa hidden charges when you check out. Also, perstaym ko to so talagang napasigaw ako pagka angkas namin ng “Shakay nah!”

I think what I liked about this mode of travel is there were no strict allowance ecklavoo. Kahit magbaon kapa ng 5litres of shampoo keri lang. Parang ang chill lang promise! Daan daan ka lang sa booths, they will quickly inspect and swab your car for safety; they also have immigration there so may tatak padin yung passport.

We originally booked for 10pm kasi we will still come from work and anticipated traffic since it was a long holiday. Luckily, we checked in around 7:45 pm and they just offered us of we’d like to ride on the 8pm one so gora! It was the perfect time cause we get to catch the golden hour while cruising the English channel.

They had a communal area in the ship and they had restaurants (not much to offer but keri nadin), small shop to buy essentials (careful cause prices are doubled); they also have a number of slot machines and currency exchange booth. Upon booking, they did offer me if I wanted to avail the lounge (additional £12 /person/journey) but since the theme is tipid travel, I just refused which was a good call. Looking at the open area, it was actually not that bad. And the journey was just for 2 hours anyway so keri boom boom na.

Because of the time difference, we arrived at Port Dunkirk ( yeap, that Dunkirk from the movie. A must watch!) at around 11pm and checked in and rested for the morning.

I am still in awe with the fact na you can be in two countries at once (Mandy Moore levels) here in Europe. From Dunkirk, France, it was just an hour drive getting to our first destination- Brugge, Belgium

Be, welcome daw.

Walking around Brugges

The city was so energetic yet chill at the same time. We were lucky cause we were blessed with a sunny weather so we had the chance to really roam around and appreciate it’s gothic architecture.

They also had canals where you can cruise and basically see around (only 7 euros each).

Of course, what is a trip to Belgium without an authentic truffle and waffle experience.

All in all, you can probably see all the sights for one whole day.

Break it to me GHENT-ly

From Brugge, it was another hour drive to Ghent. They had pretty much the same structures but some areas looked more metro.

Main reason why we suddenly decided to go to Belgium: this guy right here! ( JV, Hubby’s bestest friend).

After Ghent, it was another hour drive to get to Leuven where JV and his family is staying.

On our day 2, we had a side trip to Netherlands ( 2 hours drive) which I will probably talk about in another entry (para mas maayos).

Fast forward to day 3, we finally went to Brussels which was 45 minutes away from where we were staying.

Similar to most countries in the EU, I’ve noticed that most of these cities usually have their centre square which is usually their main paandar and then the rest of the tourist sites are spread everywhere.

I’m currently exploring taking candid photos of other people. Parang bet ko pang i-explore itey.

In fairness kay daddeeey

Cuteee children on their field trip! Random fact: I’ve always wanted to be a pre-school teacher

I did’t make any effort to research why pero bet nila itong si totoy. Sikat siya dito for some reason.

The Atomium – huge structure depicting atoms.

Honestly, ito yung pinaka highlight for me- the European Union Headquarters. Other than that, solb nako.

I think 2-3 days would be enough to explore its main cities and I would say Brugge was my favourite. Other must try is of course, their waffles and I love their legit Belgian truffles and my gad, I love the beer! (Sorry, no pictures na kasi nasa chanda ko na lahat plus, tipid memory din for wordpress!)

Anyway, I’m still editing our videos (I’ll embed it here soon) but see you soon on my next lamyerda diaries! Taaa!!

 

Update! From 150 raw videos to 20 minute clips to this!