January 9, 2025

How to Get to Ninh Binh from Hanoi: A Complete Guide

After living in Hanoi for four years, I often found the city’s unrelenting energy both exhilarating and exhausting. On days when the honking motorbikes and narrow alleyways felt too constricting, I would escape to Ninh Binh. Just a few hours away, it became my sanctuary—a place where life moved at […]
January 8, 2025

Where to Stay in Ninh Binh: The 30 Best Hotels in Ninh Binh

Living in Hanoi made me long for the vast quietness of the countryside. Ninh Binh was always my weekend fix during my four-year stint in Vietnam’s capital. Ninh Binh’s huge rafts of farmed white ducks wallowing in its many waterways, with the expanse of rice fields in different shades of […]
October 1, 2024

The 25 Best Boracay Station 1 Resorts: from Luxury to Budget 2024

We all have a story how the travel bug got us. Mine started when I was a university student. I led the school publication, and the president of the student body government and I were invited to join a nationwide student leader’ press conference in Boracay. This was almost twenty […]
September 9, 2024

The Ultimate Expats and Digital Nomad Guide to Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi: chaotic, mesmerizing, and utterly captivating. After three months of exploring this city’s vibrant streets and a month of wandering Vietnam’s diverse landscapes, I knew Hanoi was the place to drop anchor. Four years later, my love for this city has only deepened. As a digital marketing manager turned teacher […]
September 2, 2024

Best Time for a Dubai Desert Safari: Your Desert Seasons Guide

Going on a desert safari is much more than taking a thrilling ride through sand dunes. It is opportunity to soak in the captivating beauty of the desert. The unending dunes, beautiful sunset view, and thrilling adventure make a desert safari must-do activity in Dubai. However, to enjoy a desert […]
August 29, 2024

Traveling to Singapore for the First Time: All You Need to Know

If you’ve ever wandered into Singapore for the first time, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled into a paradox—an urban jungle that’s at once futuristic and profoundly traditional. I’ve been there twice, and each visit unraveled new layers of this young and small country’s genius. It’s a place where […]
August 19, 2024

Scuba Diving in Apo Island, Philippines: Your Ultimate Guide

I earned my PADI diving license in Dauin, a swim away from Apo Island, and what better way to celebrate than with a dive in the mesmerizing waters of Apo Island. I had snorkeled and free-dived here countless times, but nothing prepared me for the surreal experience of exploring its […]
August 5, 2024

Where to Stay in Hanoi for First Timers: Some of the Coolest Hotels

Hanoi—where history meets hustle and the streets pulse with life. This what draws me and made me stay for four years, first as a digital nomad, then I went back to teaching full-time. It was the eclectic energy. The relentlessness. The restlessness that made me stay. For first-timers navigating this […]
August 5, 2024

Your Ultimate Ninh Binh Travel Guide: 17 Best Things to Do in Ninh Binh, Vietnam + Ninh Binh Itinerary

With my four years in Vietnam, Ninh Binh singularly took the number one spot as the most visited. I regularly visited this place on my own especially during the pandemic since it is just 1 hour and 30-min away from Hanoi by limousine—the locals’ word for spacious shared van. When […]
August 1, 2024

Hanoi Travel Itinerary for First-Time Visitors

Welcome to my beloved Hanoi, a city that never fails to surprise. As someone who’s called this place home for four years, I can assure you that each street, market, and hidden corner has a story waiting to unfold. This Hanoi travel itinerary is designed for first-time visitors who want to dive […]
August 1, 2024

A Pretentious Solo Backpacker Joined a Tour for the First Time in Camotes Island

I forgot to bring a jacket. The air was thick with the distinct smell of an air-conditioned vehicle. A slightly smaller yellow bus, three vans, and some private Pajeros were in front of our bus, the biggest among the rest. I took the number of vehicles as premonitions and folded […]
April 5, 2024

Hong Kong Travel Guide for First-time Visitors

Hong Kong reminds me of the paradox of human progress: the dragon-gated skyscrapers at Victoria’s Harbour coexists with the squalidness of Lucky House, infamous for its coffin houses. From the luxury cars becoming a commodity on the streets to the 570 bird species found in its land, representing one third […]