February 19, 2016

Why I Felt Embarrassed Being Called a Travel Blogger

The eyes of the girl sitting beside me had tear marks. Before I entered the immigration office, I saw her through the glass window, answering the questions of the immigration officer. When I sat beside her to fill up the form, I heard her asking the immigration officer if the […]
February 16, 2016

On Punches and Beautiful Rainbows

“Indonesian???” asked a local who looked at me with a confused look in his own face. “No,” I would smile. “Japan?” “No.” “Thailand?” “No.” “Vietnam!” “Try harder!” “Philippine!” And he laughed, as if he won the lottery. This guessing game is one of the few constants on my trips around […]
February 7, 2016

Wanna Make Your Blog Popular? Travel the Philippines and Praise or Bitch It

Here in Cebu, local travel bloggers often meet fellow travel bloggers from Luzon or Mindanao for dinner or beer. We would talk about places, travel plans, and other fellow travel bloggers who succumbed to click-bait articles and listicles such as “Five Reasons I Hate Davao City” or “20 Photos from the Philippines, […]
January 22, 2016

Places in the Philippines to Avoid This Summer

A note: Hi there! I would constantly update this list. If you have been to overcrowded destinations in the Philippines that you want to include in the list, email us at backpackingwithabook@gmail.com—Jona In April and May, some Filipinos take three showers a day while others suffer from the absence of water […]
April 21, 2015

CRUISING MAGAZINE: Meeting Whang Od

Cruising magazine published my photo essay on my encounter with the phenomenal Whang Od. The essay, just about 700 words, was hard to write especially I already wrote an exhaustive essay on Whang Od and Her Village. To read the whole essay, you can buy Cruising #GoingPlaces at any bookstores […]