I was in the plane this morning en route to Bangkok, Thailand. The people at the other side of my aisle were chatting, asking questions about each other. Of course, one question was on where the other was heading. The Australian lady told the Filipino guy that she and her friend were off to Chiang …
It has taken me a few more days to put this together due to some late submissions and my increased work load in my day job. I couldn’t accommodate more submissions though because I have set a deadline. I hope you enjoy whatever I have compiled in this blog carnival for blogcarnival.com. What does it …
Two Filipinas are part of this initiative! Blogging started out for me as a passion for writing. Since travel is what I love most, I focused on writing about my trips and travel experiences. Little did I know that one day, my blog will become part of the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Program. “In late 2008, …
It has been months since I’ve been to a familiarization trip or a fam trip. I was chosen as one of the 12 finalists of the Medical Tourism Blog Contest organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. But I got busy with the competition that I missed posting my experience here on my site. The …
If you happen to visit the Philippines during the Christmas season, don’t be surprised to find the country abuzz with so much celebration. Being the largest Christian-dominated country in Asia, the Philippines start the season as soon as the calendar hit the “-ber” months. So, as early as September, the countdown to Christmas begins, Christmas …
Read more “10 Reasons Why Spend Christmas in the Philippines”
It was a first time for me to be picked as a finalist in a blogging competition. I must say that I’m pretty new in this field as I only started with this blog in 2009. Yet, I’ve made several attempts but never had the chance to really build up a blog until First-Time Travel …
The First-Time Travels of Lonely Planet Blogsherpas – Carnival #9 Jetsetters and seasoned travelers may be “experts on the road” but they also started out learning the ropes of traveling. They now have something to advice on the subject because they have a rich resource of firsthand travel experiences. Some of them, when they were …
For someone visiting an important nation like China, it is a must to make a stop in its most essential city, its capital, Beijing. Although our entry point and exit was Shanghai, we made sure that we can swing a trip to the capital. It was a long journey as we flew to Xi’an and …
Read more “First-time in the Forbidden City and other Beijing Sights”
One of the good things I enjoy in traveling is meeting new people along the way. May they be local residents or fellow travelers on the road, these persons I encounter in my journeys make my travels more colorful and memorable. I recently had a nine-day tour of China, from Shanghai to Xian to Beijing …
I was living in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2002, when the Japan/Korea World Cup fever swept Asia. It was the buzz wherever I went. Streets were usually deserted when a game was going on. Everywhere I went, I was seeing products and pictures with the FIFA World Cup logo or paraphernalia. When I was in Bangkok …
Read more “World Cup 2010 Fever: Is the Philippines Ready to Catch It?”
Let me take a little bit of detour in my travel blog. When I first decided to be a traveler, I already had my sights fixed on world travel. I thought it would be best to take one little step at a time, visiting places within my own country, then in the Southeast Asian region, …
Read more “World Travelers and Travel-bloggers Come Together In the Worldwide Web”
This is the first time that First-time Travels will be featuring an article from a guest blogger. I love that. As I’m pretty sure that every seasoned traveler started out as a first-time traveler, I welcome stories about travel experiences when you first embarked on your travels or when you first visited a place. Read …
Watching travelers in an airport coffee shop while waiting for my flight, I couldn’t help but wonder what 2010 has for me when it comes to traveling. Of course, 2009 was a good one. I have covered almost 20,000 miles, visited four countries, and enjoyed several beaches and landmarks. It was my first time to …
In Shenzhen, a bustling metropolis, I embarked on a transformative journey that revealed the world’s wonders within one city. It was an extraordinary voyage where time and distance seemed irrelevant. Shenzhen, a gateway to boundless exploration, offered travelers a unique chance to witness a kaleidoscope of global marvels in just a day. Shenzhen opens a …
Read more “First-time in Shenzhen: Exploring the Wonders of the World”
When I posted online that I was embarking on a long trip and one of my destinations would be HCMC, so many asked me if I were going to Hong Kong and Macau. For the uninitiated, HCMC is Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. It is the biggest city of Vietnam and the …
Read more “First-time in Ho Chi Minh City: a Harmonious Chaos”