Christian and I have this “tradition” of spending my two-month school breaks somewhere else, which prompted our annual backpacking trips since 2013. Even after having our son, Akira, we still enjoy these trips. 2025 was different, though, as this was the first time our son had his first-ever school vacation as a Kindergartener. The problem was that his school wasn’t able to give us an annual school calendar, even when we asked them a number of times. With that, we wrongly estimated his vacation dates when we booked our flights, and our trip coincided with their Kindergarten’s Moving-Up Ceremony. So, we weren’t there. Instead, we were in Japan having katsudon and karaage.
So this school break 2025, we embarked on yet another backpacking trip. After having a child, we knew that everything would be different, like we weren’t as prepared as before, and yet we still plan on having the best times of our lives. We’re glad that our son gets to enjoy these trips as well. When his school asked them to dress up as what they want to be when they grow up, he chose to be an "explorer". He then told us that all of his classmates were wearing costumes while he was wearing his normal “adventure clothes”. It’s great to share the same passion with our son.
2013 > Babuyan Islands, and Sulu
2014 > Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam (Backpacking 2014)
2015 > Cebu, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos (ASEAN Summer Loop 2015)
2016 > Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, and Singapore (Beach Hop Asia 2016)
2017 > Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam (Same Same Summer Trip 2017)
2018 > Indonesia, Singapore, and Morocco (SEA 2Africa 2018)
2019 > China, Mongolia, and Russia (Eurasian SummerBump 2019)
2020 > Pandemic
2021 > Pandemic
2022 > Boracay (3 Weeks in Boracay)
2023 > Malaysia, Singapore, Siargao, Surigao, and Dinagat Islands (Backpacking With A Kid 2023)
2024 > Bohol, Siquijor, Dumaguete, Cebu, and Japan (Pre Kinder Trip 2024)
This year, our booked flight to Fukuoka in Japan was the only one we planned. The rest was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. We spent 11 days in Fukuoka doing nothing but enjoying Japanese food and parks.
Our initial plan after the Japan trip was to go to Davao and nearby towns, but something came up, so we aimed to go to Boracay to spend a few weeks there instead. The flights were too expensive in Caticlan, thus leading us to find another airport near Boracay, which led us to book our flights to Iloilo. After realizing that 6 hours will be spent on a bus going to Caticlan from Iloilo, we just pushed through with the Iloilo trip, completely putting behind our original plans.
In the end, we got to spend six days in Iloilo City, three days in Guimaras, and five days in Roxas City. This leg of the trip was memorable for Akira as it was the first time that he got to teach himself how to swim—yes, all by himself. We wanted him to learn how to swim, but we didn’t want to force him, so yeah, he taught himself how to float and tread. Haha.
Christian and I are not the perfect couple, and we certainly are not the perfect family. But what I love about us three is that we get to enjoy the simplest things in life. It’s definitely hard to move around, especially when you have a very active five-year-old with you, and with the very meager means to survive our daily backpacking life, but we always find a way to make everything better, anywhere, always.
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