Category: Travel
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Malaya
When my friend, Bernice, and I started talking about going up to Kalinga, she was still unsure of whether to get a tattoo. She wanted one but her parents were against it, and so she didn’t know if getting permanently inked was worth the trouble. As we went through the harrowing journey however, and finally…
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Kalinga Making Marks
In late January, my good friend, Bernice, and I traveled way up north of the Philippines to the mountains of Buscalan, Kalinga. Getting there took one night and one day, three different vehicles on countless cliffs, and so many miles on foot, all totaling 15 hours of travel from Manila. Buscalan, Kalinga made for an…
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The Second Time Around
Four years ago I hopped on a rickety G Lizardo bus with doors held by rusty hinges, seats that felt like hardboard, and creaky windows that let the full force of the cold mountain wind through. It traversed the winding, unpaved roads of the legendary Halsema Highway, weaving through patches of galvanized iron villages, yellow-green…
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The Dark Side of Travel
Last month, I had a really good teaser of the life I wanted. I was on the road for all but one week, and I loved every moment of it. Loved it so much, in fact, that I was completely unprepared for the crash that greeted me when I got back.
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Portal
Changi Airport, Singapore. October, 2012. It starts with the first stamp; when you’re finally cleared of all the roadblocks and allowed into your flight. That thumbnail of ink on that small squarish sheet becomes your doorway to unknown, unlimited possibilities. Then comes the wait, wherein your mind starts to shift. Letting go of walls, taking…
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Escaping Summer Heat
We’re at the heart of summer in the Philippines, and with temperatures averaging 39 degrees C a day (hotter than freakin body temperature!), it’s no surprise my mind is getting slowly fried. All I’m consumed with now is thoughts of the ocean, or the cool mountains, or anywhere away from the searing city, longing for…
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Sun-kissed
A couple of weeks back my photography group finally got its act together and managed to land ourselves in the beach. It was the laziest, coolest, chillest two days I’ve had all year, I think. Swinging gently in a hammock all afternoon for siesta, waking up to eat, driving to the beach, eating again, drinking every…
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Sea, Sky, and Sea
Double exposure with Nikon D7000. Tali Beach, Batangas. 2012.
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Faces: Siem Reap
Travel is never complete without the people you cross paths with along the way. They infuse your experience with a different kind of soul, a depth, and a dynamism nothing else could fulfill. However pretty or rotten a place is, it’s always a smile across the street from a local or a shared memory with…
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The Great Temple Run
(Before anything else, let me just warn you: this will be a great post in length as well. Siem Reap deserves all the spotlight it could get. It’s just so amazing that I’ve no urge to filter my love whatsoever. Haha.) It was a damp night that greeted us when we landed at the Siem…
Life As A Tumbleweed 