November 26, 2015

OUR SKIN DIARY | Filipina Degrade Themselves in Online Chat Rooms

OMG. Reading this made me angry for some reason. Filipinos are a racist bunch, and I’m not even one. I was in Manila last year. Like what the author has pointed out, I saw the same type of couples : fat, old westerner with a local Filipina. We all know […]
November 24, 2015

5 Easy Tips for Getting Amazing Sleep on the Road

This post, 5 Easy Tips for Getting Amazing Sleep on the Road, first appeared on Tailwind, Hipmunk’s blog, on November 15, 2015. If you find that your sleep quality decreases while traveling, you’re not alone. A National Sleep Foundation poll found that most adults prefer the comfort and calm of their […]
November 22, 2015

PRODUCT REVIEW | Sky Travel Luggage Review

Sky Travel Luggage Review is an honest, personal (yes, not a sponsored post) review.  I know how important a good bag is for month-long trips. I know I could not use my old and well-used Jester for this trip. So I kept on checking the outdoor shops to look for that […]
November 13, 2015

OUR SKIN DIARY | Equating the Filipina to Prostitutes

Equating the Filipina to Prostitutes?  Such a horrendous image.  This post by AERA R is a comment on my Rappler article: On Being a Dark-Skinned Filipina Traveling Around the Philippines. With a new partner in a country where they equate a Filipina to a prostitute or gold digger, I told him flatly […]
November 10, 2015

PRODUCT REVIEW: Rubber Mini Flexible Portable Tripod

How portable rubber mini flexible portable tripod is? I rarely take selfies, and by selfie, I mean holding the phone or the camera and pointing it to my face. I find the act lazy and uncreative. But I love taking travel portraits of myself, of making myself the subject of many […]
October 25, 2015

OUR SKIN DIARY | I Have a Husband Much Older Than Me

This post by KIM E is a comment on my Rappler article: On Being a Dark-Skinned Filipina Traveling Around the Philippines You don’t have to look like couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to be called a lovely couple. I’m a young Filipina and I’m proud to tell that I […]
October 22, 2015

OUR SKIN DIARY | Becoming Invisible

It happened many times. The moment you and your partner checked in a hotel, and the attending receptionist only looked at the white man beside you, as if he was alone, as if you did not exist. I thought I was just overreading and overanalyzing the situation, knowing my mind goes crazy […]
August 23, 2015

Why Now Is The Time To Visit These Landscapes Affected By Climate Change

This post, “Why Now Is The Time To Visit These Landscapes Affected By Climate Change,” was posted by thehipmunk on Hipmunk’s Tailwind blog on August 3, 2015.  Climate change is real, and it’s having a significant impact on some of the world’s most stunning, unique, and precious landscapes. Rising global temperatures, along with industrialization, […]
July 9, 2015

OUR SKIN DIARY | Deeper Than Your Skin Color

I was on the passenger seat while my guests were at the back. (Context: A learned I travel a lot, messaged me, asked if I could tour him and his friend to Oslob. I told him, I would go down south [normally skip Oslob, I do not support the inhumane […]
June 8, 2015

OUR SKIN DIARY: Braving Stereotypes

  About what you wrote, it was something I’ve been looking for for the past months. I’ve read tons of similar write-ups but none have captured the shame and belittling that I have felt whenever a snide remark is whirled at me for having dark skin and being with a […]
June 4, 2015

OUR SKIN DIARY: We Are also Invincible

Hello, I just read your article about your responses to being dark-skinned etc. My wife was born with dark skin as she is a Filipina Jamaican, born and educated in manila. Forty years ago, she migrated to Australia and worked there till we retired two years ago. Iam an Australian. We live in Manila permanently. […]
May 18, 2015

Five Soulful Boutique Hotels in Seoul

Blog Post Type: Summary of a City Guide Seoul is a soulful city. Like most megacities in the world, Seoul is homogeneous, peopled, and future-oriented. For a discerning traveler, you can see the many contrasts around. What makes Seoul soulful then? It is this very reality: posh cars and motorcycles […]