Luzon: Rice Terraces and Hanging Coffins Rural highlands meant extra good coffee and extra bad wifi. It was time to put down the phone and tune into the present. Banaue and Sagada were tucked into the Cordillera mountains, adored by Filipino couples and families for their views and cute cafes. Both towns possess UNESCO World Heritage sites. While these spots get… Read More
Cebu: A Very Southerly Circuit In 24 Hours If there’s anything a solo female traveler knows, it’s how to figure out exactly what she wants. My upcoming flight out of Cebu left me with a laundry list of adventures to seek and so little time left. And this was just the southern half of the island. Possible or not, I had one day… Read More
Cebu: A Million Sardines and a Whale Shark Three years ago, a massive school of sardines left the coast of an island that was a 15-minute boat trip away from Moalboal, and moved to Moalboal itself. More specifically, one million shiny fish dumped themselves off the banks of all the dive shops. As of 2017, Moalboal was still a popular destination for snorkeling… Read More
Cebu: DIY Kawasan Falls Day Trip Chasing the endless waterfalls of Cebu was so fun that I left that island with busted toenails. Kawasan Falls were the most well-known set of falls, running through the jungle in a unique aquamarine. We arrived as early as we could and beat the crowd to some stunning bridges and sketchy rope swings before sitting… Read More
Cebu: Lechon And The City Cebu city is the capital of Cebu island. Like any regional hub, air pollution was heavy and traffic was slower than walking. Like any Filipino city, the creepy grin of the Jollibee followed me from block to block while the locals were extra hospitable. The Filipinos hanging out at Hey Fellas Guesthouse took me prime lechon1 and… Read More
How To Trust The Universe 101: A Coast-To-Coast Series Of Haphazard Events The notion of California gives me butterflies. It always has. I am just another West Coast dreamer, nothing special there. But with the record-smashing hurricane raging straight towards home, my parents urged me to give up my flights and stay back. After all, I only paid $53 for a roundtrip. But then it… Read More
Palawan: Lake Kayangan Feeling rather volatile with making choices, I decided I wanted to see the cleanest lake in Asia. Coron was so close and I had no certainty of the next time I could come to the Philippines, so I accepted my inefficient use of time and money and proceeded to backtrack a segment of my travels… Read More
Palawan: The Cheapest Way To Explore El Nido Island-hopping through lagoons and limestone formations outside El Nido was one of the most beautiful days of my life—I would even go as far as to say top five. It was cheaper and less crowded than Thailand or Vietnam, swimming was often encouraged, and below the surface the marine life was popping. The following day… Read More
Palawan: The Busuangan Good Life Manu and I managed to meet up and travel a new land with a couple of his friends just as we did one year ago. After tossing and turning with Workaway projects and indecision for the first half of my trip, I welcomed the break from solo travel and the shock of transitioning from the… Read More
Chasing Calories: Chiang Mai Welcome to my first of a series of food guides. Chiang Mai was so delicious it had me walking miles in the June heat searching for the perfect bowl of khao soi noodles. It had me slugging down one icy drink on high speed just so I would finish it before I got to the next… Read More