By Anne Carr

If you know anything about Southeast Asia from photos or travel documentaries or have traveled there yourself you know how it draws you back time and time again. I have visited the Philippines and loved every moment of the weather, the food, the beach, the people, and the beautiful destinations. I long to travel to many other countries in Southeast Asia as well, but I want to make my flights and hotel accommodations affordably.

As far as making Southeast Asian travel arrangements it makes perfect sense to use a travel site that is specifically focused on the region. Traveloka, a regional online travel agent, provides budget deals on hotel arrangements and flights. This is important for moms who are often charged with making all of the family’s travel plans.

If you are planning to find travel deals when you and your family are traveling around the region, this site promises to find the best rates in some of the most traveled to destinations like Manila, Tokyo, Jakarta, and Taipei.   

One of the great things about traveling abroad is all of the culture you can take in. For me, local food is my weakness. Local seafood, custom dishes, and spices along with beer and spirits are what I look forward to when I travel. In fact, I go out of my way to book a hotel that has superb restaurant so I don’t have to travel far for good food and drink. That is a travel priority for me. Even though I do love venturing out when I travel it is also important to me to have one day in between my travels just to relax.

When I visited the Philippines two years ago I was excited that everything was incredibly affordable including the hotels where I stayed in both Manila and Tacloban and all of the restaurants were very affordable and served delicious meals. I look forward to going back to the Philippines and visiting more of the tourist islands. I have seen friends’ photos of the beautiful beaches, and them going through caves, and staying at gorgeous beachfront villas and luxury hotels. Before I travel elsewhere in Southeast Asia it is my utmost interest to visit more of the Philippines. Did you know that the Philippines is made up of over 7000 islands? Knowing that I have many options to choose from. I have already set my mind on Kalibo and Boracay for starters.

One of the other things I absolutely loved about the Philippines was the food as I mentioned. I ate adobo every single day and never tired of it. I also was quite amazed by all of the garlic rice because in its simplicity I never thought about how that would be a delicious combination.

I look forward to the time when I can take my family to the Philippines. I know they would love it, especially since we do not need visas. Secretly, I look at countries we can visit and I don’t need to deal with visas. It’s easier for everyone, especially me.

Visiting the Philippines with my family could be affordable especially with time and attention to detail. And, it would be a beautiful destination that my children would appreciate and can appreciate immediately. They don’t have to struggle with a foreign language, but can take in the splendor of one of the most beautiful Southeast Asian countries. 

Visit Anne Carr's blog at www.mamamtraveler.tumblr.com.