This is actually DJ's idea. Maybe because I once told him that I haven't been to Manila Zoo yet and that I've always wanted to go to Luneta Park for a date. Haha! Then he would always tell me that it's such a probinsyana thing to do. Only probinsyanas like me would have thought of that idea. This zoo idea was actually supposed to be done on my birthday but due to bad weather, we had cancelled the zoo visit that day. We however had the chance one Sunday afternoon (2 weeks after my birthday). So our little family drove out to Manila and paid the animals a visit.

I actually expected to see just a few people at this zoo but I was surprised to see the parking lot almost full and people bustling in and out. Mostly are families with small children or a group of teenage friends or a pair of lovers. Entrance fee for Manila Zoo is P100 for regulars but only P50 for those who can present an ID with a Manila address. For our case we wanted to check out the Kinder Zoo so that's additional P200 per head.

Kinder Zoo is the child friendly area of the zoo where you can have close encounters with their tamed animals. Here's some pictures of us with the phyton, the baby crocodile, colorful birds, the microhorse, the old turtle and the owls, to name a few. Kinder zoo also offers other activities like ziplining, wall climbing and swimming for the kids. We also had the chance to see Maali, the only elephant in captivity in the Philippines (the elephant is not part of the Kinder Zoo).

An afternoon at this zoo has been a great bonding experience for our family. Kiel may not have appreciated it yet due to his young age but when the time comes in the future when he sees these pictures of him, especially that snake dragged around him, he would surely react and ask a lot of things. Moreover, this might probably be not the only zoo he will visit in his life.

It was my birthday and one of DJ's plans that day was to bring me and Kiel to Awesomeville in Gateway, Cubao. He thought that one way of making me happy on my birthday is to make Kiel happy as well. And he was right - it made me happy seeing Kiel enjoy. Although I was injured that day due to my swollen hand, that didn't stop me from enjoying my special day with my family.

What I liked about Awesomeville was their pool of balls. I loved it because it was me and Kiel's first time to experience it. HAHA! I think our Kiel was still small for this area so we made sure to always stay by his side. (He tends to get buried and can't move freely when there's too much balls around him.) I'm sure Kiel enjoyed swimming (or rather standing) through the layers of tiny balls but it was The Daddy who I think enjoyed it most, #childhoodMemories. Haha! In my case, I was a probinsyana and there's no such place sa province namin. Sucks right? Imagine all those toddlers living in my beloved province Antique and all the fun they missed.

Aside from the ball pit, they also have a trampoline area which is ideal for active toddlers. Kiel can't stand up on his own yet so he really doesn't know how to jump yet. He however enjoyed this area when somebody jumps and he bounces along. I love hearing his giggles and the look on his face enjoying makes me smile.



This area consists of a variety of colorful shapes made of light rubber material. Kid's creativity can be developed here since they could combine smaller shapes to create a bigger shape or form objects just like playing Lego pieces.



The colorful hanging bridge. You can't help but feel secured because of the sturdy mesh walls surrounding these higher areas.



How I love this pic! Daddy and baby seems to be serious and engrossed in playing but in reality Kiel was just reaching out trying to pull the yellow thing attached to the board game, haha! Here goes #theLittleDestroyer.



DJ and I got amused on how Kiel dealt with this part of the play area. He was hesitant to cross to the other side and took a LOT of time checking out its durability. 😂 Tinitingnan nia talaga at hinahawakan pa yung part na nagdudugtong ng mesh at ng entrance - as if checking if it could bear his weight and will not tear up easily. Haha! So cute of him. We even joked him "Kiel, matibay yan. Hindi ka mahuhulog jan." True enough, this mesh bridge is sturdy, it could even support me and DJ. We've tried it ourselves.


I call this the rolling pin entrance. You have to pass this to go to the other side. The only way out is through squeezing yourself out again.



This is the mat area. Play area consists of the mat area, the pit ball, the trampoline and the 2nd & 3rd levels. The 2 elevated areas consists mostly of obstucles for active kids. The mat area is ideal for babies who can't walk yet. The mat area is also where parties are held. When we arrived, a birthday party has just ended.



Prices in Awesomeville is either 200 or 400 pesos. One companion is allowed to go inside for free, an additional companion just need to pay P100. In our case, we got a discount voucher worth P199 for 3 hours. Since I also went inside, I paid P50 instead of P100, 50% discount thanks to the online voucher. 😉




Awesomeville is an ideal place for kids to have fun, especially for active toddlers. Great place to bond as a family as well. This place also allows kids to play on their own while the guardians go shopping or doing errands. Be wary though of the time you pick up the kid since they charge for extended hours.


For further improvement of the place, I suggest that staff should be more strict with what people carry inside the facility. In the ball pit area we found a plastic water bottle as well as personal toys mixed with the plastic balls. One of the toys even hurt our feet while inside the pit. Also, food should strictly not be allowed inside the play area. Me and Kiel found a few pieces of food wrappers lying around. These might trigger insects like ants to inhabit the place. Who would want their child to come in OK but come out with insect bites?


Also extra care for personal belongings if you opt to bring it in, like your cellphones for example. DJ almost lost his phone while inside the pit area. Good thing he realized it sooner rather than later. He found the phone near the area just where he was staying.


For those interested to also try Awesomeville, below are their contact details. Enjoy with your family to have more fun. 😀

I've known Gymboree through a blog post of Patty Laurel whom I've been stalking lately. She has a son named Theo (the same age as my Kiel) who celebrated his 1st birthday at Gymboree Alabang.

I've been curious since then after reading that her son basically learned how to walk through Gymboree. So I've researched about this gym play for kids and suggested it to my partner. He was interested as well so we headed out to Robinsons Magnolia last Sunday.

We were not yet sure if we wanted to avail the membership that day. Upon inquiry with the pretty teacher who was in charge of the reception desk, she told us that we can let Kiel experience playing on their play area for 5 minutes free of charge. Then if he wants it, we could extend for 30 mins or an hour and pay the non membership price.

As expected Kiel enjoyed it there. Everything was new to him so he was curious at almost anything. A guardian is required by the way to be with the child inside the play area so me and DJ (my partner) accompanied him. Socks is required for the guardians to wear when inside the play area.

Kiel was hesitant at first trying the different play equipments. I noticed during the early minutes that he was afraid of getting into a tube like equipment that he has to come in from one side then crawl out on the other side. He was probably afraid of getting stuck in the middle so he tends to crawl back after going in. After a few tries of encouraging him to crawl all the way to the end, he was able to do it. Later on, he already knew what to do and no more need to urge him. He was already fast crawling inside with a smile on his face with me waiting for him at the other end. He was also able to climb up an inclined plane which looks like an inclined wall climbing platform. It was fun cheering him and seeing him with a 'fighting' look on his face.

Kiel played there for an hour. What we liked with the experience is that he was able to interact with other children. At first he stops on his tracks if there is someone approaching him, or sometimes he gets shy and crawls back to us. But later on, it was him whose been approaching other people in the play area. It helps him socialize with other people aside from us whom he sees everyday.

Gymboree also offers classes for children. There are options based on their age. Since we aren't decided yet on what class to put him or if he's gonna like it, the teacher offered us to try joining their trial classes first with a fee of P600. The amount is deductible once you opt to enroll within 2 weeks after the trial class.
We have agreed to take the trial class first so we will be coming back next time. Hopefully Kiel likes it. I think he will benefit a lot from it.

After that one hour of him playing, he was so tired when we reached home. He just laid lazily on his playpen unable to move actively as what he used to do...HAHA...my poor baby Kiel...

P.S. We first decided to check out the Megamall branch. However, their branch there closed just a few days after we found out about Gymboree Megamall. Their facebook page has also been offering a promo for their membership wherein you can avail the lifetime membership for just P2,400 instead of P4,000. It was so sayang since we found out about it one day after the promo duration. We hope there's another chance.