It is the body that knows first that summer has arrived. Sweat trails the scalp, the spine, the forehead. It is the exposed skin that turns a shade darker. It is the nape that feels the uncomfortableness of of the heat. It is the body that screams for an escape to the […]
“Nganong naabot man ka diri, Nong?” (What brought you here, Nong?) “Unsaon ta man, day, diri man nako nakit-an ang akong pikas sa kinabuhi (It can’t be helped, day, I found my other half here),” answered Nong Tony who has lived in Britania for 15 years. The tone he used […]
This is the most updated Malapascua Island Cebu, Philippines Travel Guide 2024 Snobbery is an unlikely character of a wanderlust. A traveler opens not only their heart but also their mind to the intricacies and complexities of a place. It is inevitable, however, that there are places I considered too […]
Last month, I started taking my travel blog seriously as a source of passive income. That means I have to show up every day and improve it every day. Updating old content. Writing new ones. SEOing everything. Doing backlinking. The whole shebang. Here are some strategies I put in place […]
Bet nila yong skin mo. Ganahan ang mga puti sa imong panit. They like your skin.I’ve been told countless times by many fellow Filipinas, both young and old. Nila, They refers to white men, both young and old, who salivate over exotic creatures like me. And each time annoys the hell […]
I could say that Sun.Star has been a massive part of my writing life. I could still remember the thrill upon receiving Mayette Tabada’s email that my balak would be published on Sun.Star’s Weekend six years ago. Since that time, there has been two editors. Now, I’m under the […]
How many times have I been to Siquijor? Does it even matter? Doesn’t really. Revisiting places allows the traveler to see a different side of the place. When I’m brokenhearted or when I don’t know what’s going on in my already chaotic life, I packed my bag in the wee […]
To live in an archipelagic nation like the Philippines translates to leaving the island you call home and find yourself on a different island whose people speak the same (or an entirely different) language yet with a certain sing-song melody that is different from yours. That is how I live […]
A week ago, I sent a version of this to the subscribers of Backpacking with a Book. Dear, I found it awkward to write a newsletter. A romantic, I found it more charming to write a letter instead. The word newsletter sounds so formal and business-like and personally I am […]
It is too early to be nostalgic. But it is December already, and there is a certain demand to retrace the places we have been to before forgetfulness erases them for good. It has been a fruitful year, and I should pat my own back because I owe it to […]
It feels like April here in Cebu; for someone who brags about the seeming eternal summer in her country, I find the heat almost unbearable. And for someone who brags about having a life-work balance, here I am so caught up with revising Backpacking with a Book’s feel and content. […]
“I love reading books,” a certain Japanese answered the trivial getting-to-know-each-other question, “what are your hobbies?” though we both know to know was misplaced. I expected another bout of suspense thrillers since most Japanese find Haruki Murakami too baffling. “Do you know Kobo Abe?” The science of coincidence! My eyes […]