November 20, 2023

Malapascua Island Guide | 17 Things to Do in Malapascua Island from a Local

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 […]
March 2, 2023

Awesome Attractions in Taiping, Malaysia

Last updated: January 2023 It was my first trip abroad (2015), and going somewhere that was rarely traveled to appeal to the rebellious and the reckless in me. A week in Malaysia would mean a selfie with the Petronas Tower at the least, a walk around Penang, a glimpse of […]
February 1, 2023

The Little Pleasures Found in Onomichi, Japan

ONOMICHI, JAPAN | ONOMICHI TRAVEL GUIDE | While Pim stood by the baywalk’s railing, an old woman, all smiling, passed by and said something in Japanese and gestured towards the camera. With my poor Japanese vocabulary bank: suka, honto ni, wakaranai, kawaii—words I learned from years-long of reading manga, watching anime, and interacting […]
July 21, 2019

CAMERON HIGHLANDS TRAVEL GUIDE | Things to Do, Where to Stay, What to Eat

Cameron Highlands Travel Guide covers all the essential information you need to make your stay memorable.  I was the only Asian in the 4×4 jeepney. An Israeli couple traveling with their little girl Luna was an endearing sight. The morning air was cool. Everyone donned their cardigan or jacket. I […]
November 2, 2016

PHOTO ESSAY | What Makes Austria Beautiful

Tobi’s family is close-knit. Living within a thirty-radius from his parents, he and his two brothers are often invited for dinner at home. His parents, in their younger years, traveled exhaustively. They traveled overland from Singapore to Turkey. Despite the occasional paranoia Tobi felt in India over my safety [READ: […]
October 6, 2016

Nine Places in the Philippines that I Want to Visit Again! Why?

DISCLAIMER: This first appeared on my travel column Down South on TV5’s interaksyon.com last January 2015. I recently saw it again, and surprisingly this list remains a plan. This is a personal reminder. All photos are mine. How about you, are there places that you want to visit again? For […]
August 15, 2016

DOWN SOUTH | Of Trails and Traces in Chiang Mai

This post first appeared on my travel column Down South on interaksyon.com on June 12, 2016. Included more photos here. 😉 I grew up climbing trees, hunting wild guavas, assigning names to animals to pass them off as friends, and wishing there was a living river nearby. Life would have […]
May 20, 2016

Jubilant | Creatures That Can Make You Squeal

I remember it well: I was busy writing a travel assignment on my phone. Nassefh—a handsome poet from Mindanao and my guardian during my drunk nights in the 54th Silliman University National Writers Workshop, the most sought-after writer workshop in the Philippines—approached me and said that I was not enjoying […]
March 12, 2016

Experience Kawasan Canyoneering with This Ultimate Guide

I have a river for a writing muse. Almost every month, I bused to southern Cebu, dropped off Matutinao (Badian), walked beside the rushing madness, skipped the crowded first falls, and trekked up to the lagoon, where my muse ends and where another river starts. I sometimes took a dip, […]
April 24, 2014

Photo Essay | Missing Batad Rice Terraces and Some Notes on Love

In Batad, the village shaman can predict the couple’s future using a chicken liver. He can read the liver’s veins and interpret them. Yes, the couple’s love and future are at the mercy of the liver.  I met a couple then—an environmentalist Filipina and an Italian cook—who suggested they would […]
August 27, 2012

| Travel Essay | Stories from Britania

“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 […]
April 3, 2012

Mt Kan-irag Travel Guide and Itinerary

Last Update: June 2019 Mt Kan-irag Travel Guide and Itinerary I’ve received several inquiries on how to go to Kan-irag | KabangBudlaan | Kainsing Falls (I know right, even the locals have varied names for the waterfall.  The community before and after the main falls have different names for it. Although […]