January 25, 2026

Traveling: Then and Now

Raw and immediate. When I first started traveling solo in the Philippines, everything was. I moved on instinct — hiring cabal-habal (motorcycle taxi) driver to take me to hidden beaches, tiny towns tucked away from any map, and waterfalls that felt like secrets. Group tours were for reasons only very […]
January 17, 2026

On Learning Too Late to Be Gentle to My Own Body

The task was simple, almost administrative. I needed a few images from my solo trips before moving to Germany to accompany a recent post about what solo travel looks like now as a new mom. Then versus now. Motion versus almost-stillness. A life once lived lightly compared to a life […]
January 8, 2026

Let’s Admit It: The Philippines Is Not At Par with Vietnam and Thailand

I’d spent a good amount of my mid-20s to mid-30s traveling around Southeast Asia in a wheeled backpack that lasted way longer than most of my love affairs. My curiosity and hunger for the unknown was as full as my backpack. Border-crossing was as adventurous and logistically irritating and tiring […]
September 1, 2025

One Day in Salzburg: My MIL’s Casual Itinerary

Salzburg is my mother-in-law’s favorite city in the world; mine is Vienna. Perhaps it’s the proximity to her home in Munich – just a hop over the border – or the way the Alpine air mixes with Baroque charm. Either way, when we decided to have one day in Salzburg, she […]
August 28, 2025

How to Squeeze One Day in Vienna: What I Did and What You Could Do Better

No, I didn’t stay in Vienna for just one day—but if you only have one day in Vienna, you can still squeeze out something spectacular. I was lucky enough to spend three nights in this city that drips elegance like candle wax, slow and deliberate. I spread out my sightseeing because […]
July 14, 2025

Where to Stay in Prague for First-time Visitors: The Top 10 + Places to Avoid

Prague has this small, stubborn corner in my heart. It was the first city I wandered alone after a heavy talk with my then‑boyfriend (now husband) on a windy night in La Palma, Spain, when I admitted how much I missed traveling solo. He didn’t flinch—he just said, then do it […]
May 13, 2025

Vienna in Winter: Your Ultimate Travel Guide

Vienna in winter is like stepping into a snow globe someone gave a good, loving shake—buildings dusted with powdered sugar, streets glowing like they’re lit from the inside out. For someone raised in the tropical hug of the Philippines like me, winter always sounded like a heavy coat I didn’t […]
May 13, 2025

Weekend in Vienna: How It Was for a Solo Traveler and 15 Personal Tips

Let’s not dance around it – my three-night fling with Vienna as a solo female traveler was pure magic. Even in winter, when the city wraps itself in extra scarves and the trees look like they’re wearing sheer gowns stitched from breath and frost. Honestly, Vienna in winter is just […]
May 9, 2025

Apo Island Scuba Diving: Your Ultimate Guide

I earned my PADI license in Dauin, just a salty splash away from those iconic shores, and the first thing I did was celebrate with Apo Island scuba diving. Because really—what better way to mark a milestone than by slipping beneath the waves of a place that feels half myth, half […]
May 9, 2025

Lake Bled Day Trip: What I Did and What You Could Do Better

When I first thought of Slovenia, embarrassingly, the only thing that floated to mind was Lake Bled—just that one glossy, over-filtered image of the island with a church, like a screensaver come to life. Still, I gave in and carved out one day in Bled Lake on the very last day of […]
May 9, 2025

A Guide to the Best English Bookshops in Vienna

Vienna is a beautiful city. Of course, that’s the perspective of a traveler—wait, scratch that—a full-blown tourist with eyes wide and heart open, gawking at Gothic spires and Baroque balconies like they’re slices of sachertorte handed down from the gods. But it’s not just the well-preserved grandeur of imperial years […]
May 9, 2025

How to Enjoy One Day in Maastricht: The Essentials

I won’t pretend I had Maastricht on my travel bingo card. I was in Bielefeld for work (don’t ask), planning a quick weekend jaunt to Aachen and Cologne when my then-coworker, a true local with that “I know a secret” glint in her eye, nudged me: “Why not squeeze in […]