Category: travels
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That Day I Arrived in London
The day I arrived in London in 2018, nobody was around to welcome me at the airport, unlike most times I landed in a new home. In Singapore, it was my sister who was at the gates to hug me. In California, there were three relatives. In Aarhus (Denmark), our landlady was waiting outside the […]
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Four Reasons to Go on a Safari in Your Lifetime
The world is enormous and there are so many things to see and do that sometimes itcan be a little overwhelming. There are some things I’ve always wanted to do, and have managed to tick off my bucket list, like parasailing in Boracay, and others that are still on my list that I hope to […]
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Russian and the Rain
Spring. I was in search of a new house and saw one advertised online. After texting the owner, I walked for an hour under the drizzle-rain combo toward a house at the south side of the UC Berkeley campus. When I arrived, there seemed to be a mistake: neither the house nor its rooms were […]
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Around this time last year
Around this time last year was a beautiful start to a year of travels literally around the world from Manila to Aarhus to Milan to Berkeley and back to Manila. If one is to choose a city to live, Manila would be a difficult choice right now given the levels of air pollution and the density […]
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America
A week before US President Donald Trump took over the White House in January, I arrived in America. I was flying from Milan with connecting flights in Lisbon and New York, and I just finished writing the 10-page exam that sealed my first semester at Aarhus University in Denmark. I remember, all I wanted to do when I landed in my […]
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Six Uncomfortable First-Time Travel Experiences
Travelling is an amazing opportunity – and one you shouldn’t turn down if you get the chance. You’ll make life-long memories and have once-in-a-lifetime experiences, although not all of them will be memorable for the right reasons. Without a doubt, when travelling, you’ll have some uncomfortable first-time experiences. But don’t worry – within no time, […]
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Surfing
Today I was looking at the Pacific Ocean from one of the corners of California coast. The spot was a three or four hour drive from Berkeley. The waves were strong and the wind wild. Surfing comes to mind. One waits for the right wave to ride when surfing. When the big one comes, the […]
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If you are inconvenienced, scream
When a guy grabbed my behind while I was inserting a train ticket into the machine station in Milano one night after the 2017 New Year’s Eve, I screamed like one does when watching horror films. It was a weekday and there weren’t many people in the station. I was wearing shorts underneath a mini skirt but […]
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The one job in my 20s that pushed me to grow up, fast
I wanted to be an animator when I was in highschool. Someday I’ll live in Japan and join the ranks of worldclass artists who tell stories through anime or moving drawings, I’d tell myself. But then life happened, and I knew I wasn’t good enough in drawing, so I let myself pick another goal when I […]
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That iconic Japanese wave art is here in Milan and I saw the beautiful thing
Last week I saw a Michelangelo. Today, when my second cousin Kathleen took me to an art exhibition, I chanced upon the famous wave reproduced thousands of times all over the world. What is it with Italians liking Japanese art and manga and food? There are many sushi joints around this neighborhood, competing with hair […]
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While people say “Good Riddance, 2016” I drink hot choco outside a cafe in Italy and laugh nervously
L’uomo universale. This is one phrase I picked up from a book I received when I won a storytelling contest in Denmark a long time ago (it feels like a long time ago). It means a “complete man”; says the book: “a man of action was supposed to have a soul and be tender-hearted and have delicate, aesthetic […]
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Resting in Milan
Where are you now? I seem to be getting this question a lot these days, and mostly my answer is on the bed? which is true. Minus the specific location, I am in Milan, Italy, staying at a relatives’ old, high-ceiling apartment. Three days ago, I flew here from Copenhagen with my cousin, my sister, and her […]
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Fika, hygge, and turning 30
Dear Micon, I’m happy you’ve reached this milestone, of turning 30. Congratulations on overcoming all the hardships of 20s. It’s one of the most difficult phases of life, they say, the 20s; but yours has been extra challenging. If people would know what you’ve been through, you will have to prepare yourself for warm, tight hugs. […]
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Two months in Denmark
Hello from Aarhus. It snowed yesterday and I make no secret of the fact that I’m ecstatic about first snow just as how excited I am about living abroad again. It’s been two months since I’ve taken a huge leap of faith and travelled to the other side of the planet to master a craft – and so far, the […]
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Marcia Adam’s Tuscany Tagaytay
Today marks my first month in Denmark and I am missing the Philippines, so let me share a memory from back home. Marcia Adam’s Tuscany is like a secret garden of aromas and chiaroscuro. The place is so beautiful. This is the first time a place shut me up when I was hangry.
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Casa de Cutab, Camiguin
If you are in search of a quiet paradise this Summer, check out the white sand beaches in the island of Camiguin, south of the Philippines, and stay at beachfront Casa de Cutab Guesthouse in Sagay. I was surprised when owner Grace Cutab shared about this Casa. In 2012, after we organized a series of anti-violence-against-women […]
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Just before sunset in Gion, Kyoto: yukata, samurai, and glimpse of a geisha
Gion is born out of the medieval ages of Kyoto, Japan. This district is home to ladies of arts called ‘geisha,’ whose old ways of serving tea and performing ceremonial acts inspire one to move in a delicate balance and sophistication. Gion’s streets can be wide and narrow, uphill and down, illuminated and fading. Every turn has […]
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Osaka-Kyoto Notes
If I were to write a quick note to friends planning their first trip to Osaka or Kyoto, Japan, this would be it. This isn’t comprehensive. In fact, I’m writing point after random point, with no clear outline in mind – just typing away in the middle of the night, in a Kyoto townhouse that […]
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Fling off the heels, drink wine in your hotel (and some suggestions what to do in Macau)
Three languages populate the signages in Macau: Chinese, English, and Portuguese. English with a thick Chinese accent is used in many places – I was lucky to have a travel buddy who’s had four Chinese bosses in the Philippines and in Singapore, so he did most of the talking in stores, food stalls, restaurants, bus […]
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Cotai, Macau
Cotai Strip is the gambling highway of Macau, if not Asia. Las Vegas would surely not relinquish the throne to Macau, but the stream of money and ‘high rollers’ into Macau, especially Cotai, over the last years has been relentless. In fact, some time ago, it surpassed Las Vegas’ sales. Out of curiosity, a trip to […]
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Underground River and the Tamilok Challenge
The one thing you’ll notice among travelers who come out of the Underground River is that they’re in their best behavior, as if they’d been in contact with forces greater than themselves. An entire day is allotted to the Underground River Tour, not because it’s far, but because of the long queue. Is it worth it? Yes. […]
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A day at Villa Escudero
My first time in Villa Escudero was almost two decades ago, when I was turning 13. The second time was in 2014, when I turned 30. Here’s where my father’s sister, the beautiful Tita Cora, married a gentleman from the Escobar family (I was maid of honor). Our stay seemed to have left quite an […]
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Taipa, Macau
There’s a spot in Macau that reminded me of Hayao Miyazaki’s films. Windy, quiet, sleepy. It’s a cobblestone walkway that goes up and down, trees left and right, small cars parked outside, people walking, wind blowing. And the lamp posts. I have a thing for lamp posts. I feel they stand witness to the everyday […]
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Go to Davao for food, Samal, and food
Where are the people? Mike and I asked when we were walking down the streets of Davao. One weekend we met my dearest friends, K., G., and A. in Davao City upon the invitation of the internationally acclaimed filmmaker and writer Arnel Mardoquio, who was born in Davao. The trip to the South has been […]
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Car review of a first-time driver, first-time owner
Not so many people in this country own a car. While researching something for work, I came across the World Bank statistics that show the number of cars per 1000 people in different countries, and the Philippines has “30 vehicles per 1000 people” as of 2010, compared with 782 in the US, 518 in the UK, […]
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Road trip to Bicol, me driving, shooting stars
Recently friends and I rode to Bicol, about a ten-hour drive from Manila. I drove for about five hours on our way back till midnight, with speeding trucks and buses passing the rough two-lane, creepy road that slices Bicolandia, all my three passengers in the car were big guys, and I cherished that one moment […]
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Planning a trip to El Nido
Hello! If you wish to visit El Nido for the first time, probably the first step to planning is buying yourself a ticket; everything else follows. Many airlines offer low base fares. Mike and I got ours for only P1300 each (seat sale), all in, round trip. You can check Air Asia, ZestAir and Cebu […]
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The road to El Nido is poetry*
droplets lost on window white bird descending, proud couple bus grey beach zoom bus empty road only red umbrella early chatter post-storm wire smoke branch screech off-road brake almost fell side breath stop
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A cozy inn one night a superstorm washed Puerto Princesa
Inns are usually country houses where travelers dine and rent a room to sleep in. Aside from lodging, it’s also defined as “a residence formerly provided for British students in London and especially for students of law” (Merriam). The word ‘inn,’ first used in the 12th century, is sometimes interchanged with ‘hostel’ (first use: 14th […]
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An invitation to El Nido
You are cordially invited to see land before time, to feel all hues of blue and green and colors in between, to swim with the gifts of the sea and be the guest of a world beneath you never imagined, to say Hi to the spirit of the mountains and rock formation that slid from […]
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Sky high
Fascinating how the new ferris wheel in Tagaytay, the Philippines’ tallest, has landed ‘the most googled destination’ in 2013. It even bested Tubbataha Reef in Palawan (2nd in the Google’s year-in-review), which is a dream destination for many even if the reef is almost impossible to reach. But looking at the Top 10, the list also […]
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Back from El Nido
A trip to El Nido, Palawan is supposed to be a respite from the world’s madness, until super typhoon Yolanda came from Visayas barreling to Northern Palawan. Since we were cut off from social media for a while, Mike and I received our daily news of the Visayas tragedy from TV broadcasts, while we got […]
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Parasailing in Boracay
What does it feel like, being suspended in the air, dangling from an umbrella? I’d think about this madly when I was small and bored being pinned on the ground. I’d consider jumping from the bungalow roof, umbrella on hand, friendly wind beneath my feet, and faith in my heart that I land in one […]
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Chocolate memories crumbling down
Seven years ago friend Kei and I flew to Cebu and Bohol from weeks of teaching in Coron, Palawan together with the volunteer group called Pahinungod. The plan was to unwind and see how other people live their lives in other parts of the Philippines, and of course, start combing the famous tourist spots of […]
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How to hide from the pursuing clock in Penang, Malaysia
To make sense out of the chaos of our minds and step out of the Things That Insidiously Kill Us Through Stress, dear friend Kei and I went to Malaysia summer of last year. Part 1: a guide, sort of Kei clearly loved the windows in this heritage town of Penang. Quite a striking literary […]
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How to scam a scammer in Vietnam
Not all escapades are bathed in sunshine. Early this year, I planned to divulge some misadventures I encountered in my trips (see: Bangkok post). Here’s an account of how I was scammed in Vietnam and how I turned the tables on the scammer. After being swathed in comfort at the five-star hotel where I stayed […]
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Radio and bedtime stories
When I was small, my parents were sometimes away and the aunts slept in another room, so my sister and I would sleep at the master’s bedroom, listening to voices and sounds on the radio, clutching our blankets or hiding beneath them while waiting for the right time to scream, like when the moon has […]
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Mangoes, anyone?
Mike knows that mangoes tame my inner monsters, so since the onset of summer he’s been buying me kilos of yellow mangoes that exude that familiar smell of ripeness. One second, I could be a complete worrywart, the next minute, I am Zenlike, eating bite after bite of mangoes divine. On Sundays outside the streets […]
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Disappearing in Thailand
The first thing you need to know about Bangkok is how the heat can make you do crazy things in April. One morning, after the usual breakfast of croissant, eggs(?), fresh orange juice, coffee, and banana at a backpackers’ hostel in Siam, I searched for beaches near Thailand’s capital and found some islands a few […]
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Musings and brief moments of indulgence
I’ve been locked out of my blog for some time to avoid any hacking incidence that’s been crippling my host’s websites, so to make up for it, I’ll try to write every other day starting today. First, some realizations. In less than two months, I have written about 80 articles: news re-writes, breaking news stories, […]
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Sweet home, Tubbataha
The news of a US military ship stuck in an important paradise of a coral reef in the Philippine waters strikes a blow to any nature lover and travel enthusiast whose appreciation of marine life and ecological balance runs deep. Tubbataha reef may actually be considered the planet’s act of kindness–of showing a slice of […]
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Happy, happy new year, world!
Apparently we all survived the end of the world, rather nervously. This start of the year should be a renewal of life, but I think all of us renew life every time we replace cells here and there, and improve on our self. Right before calendars turned 2012, I made a list of outlook, which […]
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BenCab Museum: that other world in the fog
In between reading books and editing articles, I bring here some memories from weeks ago at BenCab museum in Baguio City, Philippines. Entrance fee is 100 pesos (prices are discounted for students). The museum has four floors of wonder and the fog outside reminds me of the blinding whiteness of Saramago’s Blindness. Ben Cabrera is mostly […]
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Tam-awan Village and other realities
In some other time, or planes of existence, time seems to move forward ever so slowly, slower than the city pace or that of a town indulged in a rush for Pleasures that will masticate society- and self-induced Pain. Tam-awan Village in Baguio preserves a way of living in its small parcel of […]
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Playing foodies in Baguio
Let’s start with the 50’s Diner near Mines View Park, Baguio City. Mike ordered stuffed squid, I had Corvette burger (porkloin steak), asparagus soup, and frozen margarita. The burger buns looked nothing special. Tell that to a person, “you look nothing special,” she might get offended, hold grudges, be bitter about it, so I […]
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Baguio wins our hearts
Baguio City and I were never friends. Baguio is that place families seem to be obliged to visit every year (at least in our case) when the kids are still, well, young and their participation in decision-making is as little as their financial contribution to vacations. And so, the small ones have no choice but […]
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An island of seven volcanoes, white island, and a riot of lanzones
Camiguin is a province island, north of Mindanao. It’s known for the sweet, succulent lanzones that looks like a full moon outside, quarter moons inside because of the fruit’s whiteness and translucence. The day we arrived in the island, our host Grace invited us to help her parents harvest corn and lanzones. Mike and I […]
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Coming to Camiguin
One weekend, under the trees of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Grace Cutab and I were talking about the Run for Given, when she mentioned that she’s having a trip to their home in Camiguin. At the mention of Camiguin, my face registered the surprise of a kid–every traveler and backpacker I know […]
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United Colors of Singapore, kids (SG post 4)
Singapore is home to Chinese, Malays, Indians, and foreigners–so many foreigners such as Australians, Filipinos, British, Indonesians, Bangladeshis, and others, that the locals want their influx stopped (immigration and work, not tourism). Such mixed and diversified population can be seen usually in tourist spots (Sentosa, Orchard, Esplanade) and business districts (Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar, Harborfront). […]
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Lucky Plaza, the Filipino mall (SG post 3)
If there’s a TV station for Filipinos (The Filipino Channel), Singapore’s Filipino mall is the Lucky Plaza. You can find this old mall at Orchard, sticking out like a sore thumb among luxury malls like Ion, Ngee Ann City, Paragon, and the forever-under-construction Tang. It stands proudly at the center of shopping action and tourist […]
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Walking among the millionaires in Singapore (SG post 2)
Singapore’s leading publisher, SPH, reported that the country has the “highest density of millionaires” around the world because of the state’s small size and the number of millionaires living here: 99,000! A typical millionaire, the report says, has an average of 3 signature watches (SGD15,000 each or half a million pesos), and travels out of […]
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Guilty, cheap pleasure (Singapore post 1)
It’s sweet that my brother Maeng asks how I’m doing in Singapore (I haven’t posted any photos/status of my whereabouts for weeks now, so to prove I’m not yet dead or rotting in a cabinet, I’ll start a series of Singapore posts). Last Sunday Aside from Kinokuniya Bookstore, another place I frequent in Takashimaya (at […]
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Choose your own adventure type of road trip
You know that book Choose your own adventure, which gives you some command in telling what will happen next, by letting you jump to page xx if you want to, say, hide in a closet as men with tanker arms approach to assault you, or to page x to somersault out of the window, and you end […]
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Cagbalete island, capturing fleeting pleasure, and the neuroscience of optimism
Pleasure is early morning sunshine and good food and friends and hugs and kisses and booze and sea breeze and ocean waves on your feet (that is why eating breakfast with friends and sweetheart by the beach would make you go… “ah this is Life”). An article on neuroscience of optimism says that seeking pleasure […]
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Things I like about KL
What are the things to like in Kuala Lumpur? There are big things and small. Here are some snapshots I took when I was in Malaysia’s capital, last month.
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Up in the caves of Kuala Lumpur, talking to a backpacker, on a rainy night
It was raining in Kuala Lumpur. After staying in my room the whole day, I called Ranie to ask if he could accompany me to the Batu Caves. I changed my mind when I saw the downpour still going on outside. I told him, I’ll just walk around the block. Since I couldn’t go any […]
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Will never fly AirAsia again ever (a rant)
Yesterday has to be the worst flight I had during my first AirAsia experience, when our flight was delayed twice, first from 4pm to 8pm, then to 10:30 pm, thus, moving our arrival time at Kuala Lumpur from 8pm to 2am of the following day, and we were given a complementary snack coupon only (100 […]
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Bangkok food trip
Eating in Bangkok can be as expensive or cheap or exciting (read: street food) as that in Manila. smoked everything As much as possible I try to eat in different places to maximize my visit here (leaving tomorrow!). It’s not always Thai that I go for. One time I found a really cheap steak house […]
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a night market
Silom, Bangkok. April 2012. After sunset. Past the racks of bohemian dresses and layered skirts, vials of colored contact lenses, boxes of synthetic pumps and oxfords, golden buddha keychains and silver elephant bottle openers, Pepsi cans in an icebox, digital clocks that glow on the surface of wood, vintage quarter-sleeve tops for ninety-nine baht, signage […]
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Lub it!
If you’re planning to go on a budget trip to Bangkok, my friends and I would highly recommend staying at Lub D Siam. It’s cheap, clean, and chic. The building’s design, in and out, could only come from persons who have taste in art. And on top of all these, it’s right in the heart […]
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This serious business of being alone
Today starts my second week in Bangkok, Thailand. Here, I feel like I’m just in Manila (cleaner version) so homesickness has no place in my mind, not even in my dreams. The Thais look like Filipinos, and I was always mistaken as a Thai. I’ve met solo backpackers from Korea and the Netherlands–young ladies who weren’t […]
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what to wear in Bangkok when you come in April
To dress up is to communicate. One doesn’t need an expensive wardrobe collection to flaunt one’s style. Imagination should be good enough. Coming to Bangkok in April, however, is a bit of a challenge to one’s creativity in mixing up dresses and accessories because this month is the hottest ever. (Try to focus a blow […]
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Floating market
Fascinating how the floating market operates. Also called the Venice of Asia, this market easily lands in travelogues and blogs about Thailand. You ride a boat and buy all sorts of products from the side of the waterways or from peddlers on boats. These photos were taken last week when C. and O. were […]
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Your hands on my face
Doors of the train slid open. Drum beats slipped in, people poured out. Below Bangkok’s Skytrain station are vendors calling out, everybody walking, people dancing and water-splashing. I stared at the long stretch of Sala Daeng full of partying teenagers and twentysomethings, not sure if foreigners are welcome in their New Year, in their celebration […]
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Singapore-Bangkok-Malaysia
It’s midnight and I’m writing this from a youth hostel in Bangkok, Thailand. Today, I could say that my work for the magazine is over (it’s running in the press already!) after this week’s sleepless nights of proof editing. The excruciating part of this editing job is having to read the same articles 10 times. […]
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Sunday trip to the Hot Air Balloon Festival and why “it’s more fun in the Philippines”
One time, my Singaporean boss asked me if it would be all right if my work takes me to the Philippines couple of times instead of staying all year round in Singapore. That wasn’t the first time he asked me (and I would always answer, I’m fine with it, and I’m not sure if he […]
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Sunday trip to the Hot Air Balloon Festival and why it’s more fun in the Philippines, really
One time, my Singaporean boss asked me if it would be all right if my work takes me to the Philippines couple of times instead of staying all year round in Singapore. That wasn’t the first time he asked me (and I would always answer, I’m fine with it, and I’m not sure if he […]
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road trip, the Comm Arts way
Million thanks to the people who took some of their precious time reading, sharing, blogging, re-blogging, tweeting, google plus-ing (whut?), and commenting on my article published in Philippine Daily Inquirer‘s Young Blood last week. Many personal messages surprised and touched me. Friends told me that it was trending in FB, it’s the top most read […]
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Friday Snapshot: where I live
Thought of putting a Friday mainstay which starts today. A snapshot. No dilly dallying. Just a photo. Up here is a hill near where I live in Northeast Singapore. Clouds are steady, watching kites approach them.
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first timer in Vietnam (snapshots of walk trips, people, and all things lovely)
When I checked in and entered my room, I literally stopped in awe at the room reserved for me (my mind said: omigoshoigoshomigosh). Like in my other trips, I don’t expect much from the places nor do I read so many travel guides since they may spoil my own impressions. One funny habit I have […]
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I want more Vietnamese food!
Oh my. Vietnamese food is all goodness. Heaven’s delight. pho Honestly I had zero idea what specialty Vietnam has, until my co-editor at IRRI, Lanie, advised me to try pho, noodles made of rice! (they’re abundant with rice, Vietnam being the world’s second largest rice exporter (after Thailand). That advice came to me weeks before […]
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dressing up and down in saigon
Last week was a crazy week for our company as we organized the World Rice Conference in Ho Chi Minh (former Saigon), Vietnam. Let my first Vietnam blog be a no-brainer: my travel closet. Before the event, I was handed our company shirt. I’m not very small, but the shirt was really huge. XL, American […]
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Liliw Liwaliw
………………………………. Liwaliw, in English, is strolling or roaming, and this is precisely what my long-time friends and I did in mythological goddess Makiling’s beloved province, Laguna. [photos by CJ Brosas] It has become a curious coincidence that the three of us, Connet B. and Jay G., would go out to some far flung place, on a […]
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Longest Day On The Beach
That’s how our 4-day stay in Boracay Island, Aklan started: with a very long lazy day of beach bumming while waiting for our relatives to arrive nine hours after us. Nine hours. And we thought the day would never end. With eating lunch and merienda in between, my brother and I walked the long stretch […]
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Boracay's Secrets
Boracay is world-famous for its White Beach. In 1997 though, it became infamous for severe pollution in its waters, mainly because of resorts dumping its sewage waste into the sea (according to a Discovery Channel publication). Ten years after that, Boracay gradually treated its waters, and bacterial content hasn’t been as grave as before […]
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3-Day Preparation for a 4-day Boracay Stay
It was flattering to be told that I must’ve photoshopped my picture of me in bikini, or, I must’ve undergone some “preparations” to achieve this so-called Boracay-worthy body. For the record, it was my first time wearing bikinis on the beach, and
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How To Get To Boracay (with 150pesos)
The Laws Of The Universe decided that I be in Boracay this month. Thanks to my Law student friend Giselle H. who sold me UP College of Law raffle tickets, I won two round trip tix to any domestic destination the week I arrived in the Philippines. Then by some strike of luck, my uncle, a graduate […]
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Flight Stories and Some Coming Home Frustrations
Weeks ago saw my patience tested in the streets of Manila whipped by typhoons. One after another, surprises met me along the way, way before I set foot home. 1 I kept on putting off the printing of my plane ticket to the Philippines, then to my absolute shock, I found out that the […]
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Fresh Look and Some Nostalgia to Taste
new look AS a personal rule and respect to good writing, I don’t like starting my sentences, especially my posts or articles with “I”, nor do I use all caps in stating something in intense emotion, nor do I use exclamation marks more than one because one is enough, two is too much, three is […]
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singapore, second time around
One’s first time in Singapore could be an amazing sensory overload treat, and really, if a tourist stays for sixty days, that’s enough time to conquer the island state. Coming back to Singapore for another sixty days, one can still enjoy the glamour of the city, but with more feeling of being “at home” than […]
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surfing (not the net, the real thing)
Maybe kids should go out more often, like, stay away from Facebook and the Internet in general, and do some real surfing, riding the waves, trying to stand on a surf board, experience getting stoked amidst the breaking of waves and the looming storm. Well, if only Baler is at your backyard. Travel guide to […]
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ilocos, surreal
Ilocos Sur, last holy week, was sure surreal. The old house stood somewhere between antique and Yet To Be Finished. Grandmother’s presence is still there, but she’s gone together with the other elders of Angkileng. Gone are the solemn days of
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Curious Things One Finds Here When Lost
All started when I planned to see 1. an office 2. a museum 3. some people Getting lost, like I said, is not a bad thing, at least to me, who has an uncanny record of running away from home (since 3 years old) and going to places I’ve never heard of. In the presence […]
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lakwatcha mode
Yesterday was probably the worst day for my beautiful feet. Three times I got lost. For hours, I was around trying to find the right way, the right building, the right bus stops, the right person, the right framework of mind to keep on going. I reached our flat right after midnight, and hit the […]
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Day…i lost count. how long have i been here? so far, though, this is my favorite photo of the week, one from the Universal Studios Singapore
That’s my little sister and we like to wear different hats in one day.
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Point. Shoot. Singapore. (Week 1)
Dine in at Suntec City‘s rows of eatery. Wish at the Fountain of Wealth.
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for the love of traveling (cdo in images)
bound to Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental (feb 4)
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how to get to galera alone
1. From Cubao, Quezon City (or Turbina in Calamba, Laguna) ride a bus to Batangas Pier. Fare is not more than one hundred pesos if coming from Laguna, and a little more than a hundred when coming from Cubao. Be ready to sit beside a former classmate in Speech Communication who still knows you and […]
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Puerto Galera, Folk Literature, and Holy Week Red Horse
Puerto Galera during the Catholic Holy Week is a sinful beach island! one reason for the beach being dubbed “Puerto Gaylera” docking area (this pic is by Gizh H.) At 3:30 Holy Maundy afternoon, the huge Comandos ferry boat docked at White Beach, which is full of ladies and gays in bikinis and
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city of seven lakes in a country of two simultaneous summers
Like my mood, weather is quite unpredictable at the onset of March. With three term papers to write and 101 research papers to check, I rode a jeep with my travel buddy to lose myself one hot saturday morning in Laguna and to finally get rid of asthma attacks. Since I had no plans of […]
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Strawberry fields forever lalala (La Trinidad, Benguet)
Harvest images of happiness here: “Let me take you down/ cos I’m going to strawberry fields/ Nothing is real/ and nothing to get hung about…” (the Beatles) How is the strawberry field connected to art, I asked as the field trip buses of Hum 2 (Art, Society, and the Individual) belched intermittently in their struggle […]
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I just wanna be in the beach!
Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte (Feb 2009) Sand, sun, and sea are
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what I get from visiting old houses of important people
What do you get when you watch those programs that feature the house of the rich and the famous? four poster bed in the middle of neatness in the house of Juan Luna grand staircase at the house of Jose Rizal in Calamba Aren’t you curious over how they do things before all the technological […]
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in a place of forever Sunday: Quezon-Batangas
Candelaria, Quezon is a place of forever Sunday. It is so idyllic the place could pass for a dreamland where carabaos float on
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UST's "schizophrenia"
Europe? nah, one idyllic afternoon at UST, Manila “No class today!” This sentence always calls for a celebration–sometimes even among teachers. So when our Comp Lit 370 professor announced this via text, my classmates and I (with respectable teaching posts at the UP, Ateneo, UST) rejoiced and went on with our own Saturday plans (which […]
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bohol: how we reached it by asking around
While in Cebu City last summer, my friend Kei Tan and I considered a side trip to Bohol since it was just one fast-craft-boat ride away. With a few thousand pesos left in our accounts, we grabbed our strollers and hailed a cab to the port. We asked around where the ticketing office is […]
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bantayan island, cebu
Bantayan island, Cebu is Boracay without party animals. Sugar Beach, the island’s longest stretch of beach, is the place to be when
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