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c h i k k a
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MAYA O. CALICA
There’s loads of inspiration to be had at a nature destination
and a historical city — you just have to know where to look
Explore galore
HAVE BABY,
WILL TRAVEL
IT’S BECOME
the mission of one of
Smile’s
favorite cover stylists, Leona Laviña-
Panutat. It also gave her the idea of making
packing cubes for her child, a line she’s just
launched and named Travelista. “While
planning for our first family trip, I realized
that my son Wyatt didn’t have his own
cubes.” Using original dinosaur designs
she sketched herself, Laviña-Panutat
had canvas cubes made and labeled
specifically for shirts, pants and laundry.
When she posted a photo of them on her
blog
www.leonapanutat.tumblr.com,
a
friend saw them and asked if she could
order — and the rest is history. The cubes
come in dinosaur designs for boys and owl
prints for girls. PHP900 for three cubes.
Tel: +63 (917) 5976941, www.facebook.
com/thetravelistacompany
AT THE
Paruparong Bukid Nature Conservation Center (PBNCC) in Barangay Lukay, Babatngon
in Leyte, visitors get the chance to decompress from city life in many ways. You can visit a
garden where butterflies are free to breed and pollinate the medicinal plants and flowers that
bloom here. It’s also a safe haven for indigenous birds and plants to thrive. Organic drinks and
food, such as the Buko Mint and
daing na bangus,
are also available. There’s even a Tree House
at the mangrove, where you can get a better view of your surroundings. Need some major
cleansing? Check into the PBNCC’s Bed and Breakfast, and avail of one of their Detox Vacation
Packages.
Tel: +63 (929) 778 0053/(920) 929 6880, ppbukidcc@gmail.com
WHEN IN
Beijing, sign up for a tour of the
hutong
neighborhoods — narrow, cobbled
lanes that take you to ancient structures with
traditional architecture — on a rickshaw (an
open-air, man-pulled carriage). The China
Guide, an American-managed Beijing-based
company, offers a rickshaw ride, a visit to the
ancient Drum Tower and tea with a local family.
If you’ve got time, they also have arts and
crafts classes like paper cutting and playing the
ehru — a two-stringed bowed instrument that’s
sometimes called the Chinese violin. You can
even arrange for lunch in a traditional
hutong
courtyard home. Talk about immersing oneself
in the local culture!
www.thechinaguide.com
Hutong calling
C ute cubes
for the
kiddies
Some of the sights at the
Paruparong Bukid Nature
Conservation Center in Leyte
A
hutong
tour is a
refreshing way to
discover Beijing