May 2, 2023

A Developing Country Citizen’s Perspective: What’s Wrong with “Leave Everything Behind and Travel the World”

 I shared the table with a Dutch traveler for our complimentary breakfast of coffee, two toasts, and few slices of melon—something that the Burmese or us Filipinos do not normally have for breakfast. But I enjoyed it, nonetheless, especially after an hour or so of pedaling on sandy paths, checking […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
April 5, 2012

Quotecard: Tuburan Pantalan

Tuburan Port, Tuburan, Cebu, Philippines   It’s funny. When you leave your home and wander really far, you always think, ‘I want to go home.’ But then you come home, and of course it’s not the same. You can’t live with it, you can’t live away from it. And it […]
March 1, 2012

Moonwalking at The Walk’s Moon Cafe

Jo’s Fajita Salad | P107.14* “Manglibre ka, ron, te? (Will you treat us out, te?)” Virhenia asked. “It’s not my birthday! But let’s eat out!” It’s thirty past midnight. I told Jo, Judy, Ellen, and Sachi to go ahead because I had to drop by  my place to get the camera. […]