Tagged Travel

A Look at the Islands of Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-tawi

Many of the travelers I have met on the road consider the Philippines as the most underrated country in Southeast Asia. It’s not difficult to see why. Geographically, we lie isolated on the “other” side of the West Philippine Sea. We are pretty much “out of the way,” given that Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,…

Beautiful Strangers: Southeast Asia Backpacking Edition

MANILA, Philippines — It’s been seven months since I published this post, where I showcased the different types of pretty boys that I encountered while traveling in some parts of the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Well, due to insistent public demand, I am bringing it back with a wider scope. Actually, there is no…

People Along the Way: The Solo Backpackers

HA LONG BAY, Vietnam — “No stars tonight?” She put down her glass of pina colada and sat next to me on the bench on the top deck of the boat, floating softly in the middle of Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. “Not even one,” I painted a faux pout on my face while picking up…

Macau Cake Walk

MACAU — The only instances where I took any mode of transportation around Macau were the taxi ride from the airport to the Macau hotel and the bus ride from the hotel back to the airport. I simply walked the whole time no matter how far my next destination was. Haha. I just love walking…

Tales from Behind the Wheel: Scary Rides

I’m always afraid to take a cab alone. I just don’t feel comfortable being alone with the driver and the  hold-up stories that I have been reading online are not at all calming. But it cannot be helped sometimes. Whenever I do, I take the passenger seat and start small talks with the driver just…

The Waterfall

There was a tired silence  lingering inside the van as we pressed the side of our heads on the glass window. Silently we admired the view of the many breathtaking places in Mountain Province as we drove from Sagada to Banaue. The hills, the hillsides, and the terraced hillsides; the mountains, the mountaintops, and the…

The Elbow Fight

From the moment I laid eyes on him, I called him “the Stranger.” There I was, seated next to my mom at the pre-departure area of a flight to Singapore, and my eyes were glued — no, nailed — to the face of the Stranger. I didn’t know what it was about that man that…

Beautiful Stranger

“Keep the hat,” suggested the Caucasian man standing next to me. I was looking at the mirror, trying to decide whether I should ditch the hat I was wearing that night. “You look great, don’t worry,” he complimented. It wasn’t long until I noticed that he was handsome, sexy and — wait for it — shirtless. We were at the restroom of a bar in Boracay. Realizing how sleazy it appeared to have a conversation inside the restroom, I replied with a simple “Thank you” and walked away. On our way out he asked me where I was from and…