From Perspectives

Travel is a Luxury.

When I say “Ang dami kong time” when I post a new video, I lie. The truth is: ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ช๐ฎ๐š๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐ก๐š๐ฌ ๐›๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐›๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž. Yes, despite not being able to travel at all. Yes, despite being cooped up at home the entire time.

Dachau

This statue of an unknown prisoner stands in a quiet corner inside the Dachau Concentration Camp. Nazi Germany’s first concentration camp, it was established in 1933, shortly after Hitler became chancellor. Although not the biggest, it was said to be the “most important” because it served as the prototype for other concentration camps throughout Europe.…

Slowing Down

When I was starting out, I was always excited about constantly moving. Thatโ€™s why I worked so hard to become a full-time travel blogger in the first place โ€” I ached for that freedom. It remains true most of the time. But these days, I also get excited by the prospect of just staying put.…

Push Back

Today I got into a heated exchange with a stranger at the mall. I was standing in front of the counter, when a man pushed me and mumbled โ€œpaharang-harang.โ€ (“You’re blocking the way.”) The younger me would have shrugged it off and let it go to avoid confrontation. Instead, I called him out and said…

One Thing at a Time

FUKUOKA, 2018. In Japan, there is a saying that goes, โ€œikkai ichi dousa,โ€ which translates to โ€œone thing at a time.โ€ I learned about this when I mentioned to a Japanese friend that I could count in one hand the locals I had seen eating while walking. โ€œWe take food seriously,โ€ he said. When asked…

Ichiran

Whenever a friend — often, someone who is in Japan for the first time — posts a picture of a bowl of ICHIRAN ramen, I always find a comment that reads, “MEH, OVERRATED! There are better ramen places!”

Night at the Taxi Stand

SANTORINI, 2017. We arrived in the Greek town of Oia past 10pm. It was a cold, windy December evening, and because itโ€™s off season, the village was as dormant as the volcano it overlooks. As in most destinations, we tried to find our booked room as soon as we got off the cab.

Square One

MALTA, 2017. The other week, for the first time in a long time, I watched the sunset from a plane. After 7 years of travel blogging, I had been so used to flying that its joy eventually got lost on me. Air travel had become an opportunity to catch more sleep. Most of the time,…