When the temperature rise in Manila people head off to the beach, whether it’s far-flung Boracay or a few-hour drive to Subic or Batangas, specifically in a beach in Laiya, Batangas (and in this case, it’s the Triple G Beach Resort.) The beauty of being in a tropical country, we have the sun all year …
In this particular trip, I realized that I have paid a lot of attention to the people I’ve been with and I met in the journey. I’m not sure if it was the isolation of Batanes from the rest of the Philippines, perched atop this archipelagic nation. Or, it must be the green rolling hills …
Among the three main islands of the province of Batanes, Sabtang seems to be the most interesting because of the old stone houses that have been part of the Ivatan culture. We rose early morning to catch the boat that would take us to Sabtang Island. Alas, waking up at 5:30 and having breakfast at …
For years, I had my eyes set on the northernmost tip of the Philippines. It was a place that only few has conquered because of its isolation and unpredictable weather conditions. It was the closest place to Taiwan and surrounded by the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. This is Batanes. Brief Preview of …
Zamboanga del Norte is in the island of Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines. And when one mentions Mindanao, tourists suddenly cringe and take a turnabout-face, especially when travel advisories label this part of the country as dangerous. The name Zamboanga alone may cause goose bumps to travelers. Scary is the exact opposite …
…and Manila’s other hole-in-the-wall eateries It was another holiday in the Philippines as we commemorated the Day of Valor, celebrating the bravery of Filipino soldiers who fought during World War II. Supposedly, my friends and I were scheduled to go to Corregidor Island, the fortress of Japanese soldiers. Unfortunately, the cruise liner called the day …
There I was again traveling alone. It usually happens whenever I travel for business wherein I would be left to my own devices. Having been used to working with non-profits, I often visited new and unfamiliar places without any welcoming party at the airport or a transport service. Sometimes it sounded scary but I always …
All of my trips to this southern Philippine city had always been for business. My first visit to Cagayan de Oro City, or CDO, as most Filipinos refer to it, was a decade ago when I was there to hold a training workshop with the local affiliates of the organization where I used to work …
When I thought of Kuala Lumpur, what instantly entered my mind was the Petronas Tower, Malaysia’s poster image. Because of its prestige, I envisioned KL as an urbanized metropolis. But its distance from its international airport totally took me by surprise. Good thing we found Tune Hotels located right in the airport complex. It was …
When it comes to hotel chains, the name Hilton is not unfamiliar to tourists. Not only because it’s a nice family name but also due to the brand image it has carved in the hotel industry. My first nights in the US, specifically in San Francisco, were spent in a cozy bed in Hilton San …
Farmerbrown. The name wasn’t familiar to me before until I encountered it and it definitely stuck in my memory bank. Not only was the place where I had my first dinner in San Francisco, if not in the USA, but how I got there was in itself an interesting tale. I was in this beautiful …
Nothing prepared me for the surprise I’d find in my first-time at Black Island. Part of our Calauit tour in Palawan was some stopovers at islands around Busuanga. A short distance away from Calauit was Black Island, where the Slovenian franchise of Survivor, Survivor Srbija: Philippines, shot some of their episodes. Black Island loomed from …
Right after our plane touched down in the runway of the Dumaguete City airport, at the capital of the Negros Oriental province in the Philippines, we embarked on about half an hour ride by van to the southern part of the island towards Malatapay Beach Resort. It was night when we arrived at the resort. …
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Getting out of the capital of the Philippines, Manila, to nearby cities and towns is not an uncommon occurrence among the urban dwellers. With friends and relatives from abroad visiting every now and then, it gives us more reason to escape the metropolis. But with the “Viaje del Sol”, Spanish for “Way of the Sun”, …
I’ve never experienced hosteling until I went to Guangzhou, a city in the southern part of China. I thought it would just be another small hotel, or an inn, for that matter. I didn’t expect that there was entirely something different with the experience, particularly with youth hosteling, which I never realized till I was …
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