With reckless abandon. That’s how I described our trip to El Nido in general. Not much planning was involved. We dove into it even though we had not even found a place to stay. And we pushed through with it even though we were in the middle of a very critical season at work. All we wanted was that feeling [...]
We were magnetized by the big, bold letters posted in front of a seaside restaurant along Bacuit Bay. It said “Happy Hour.” We were just there for dinner but the idea of getting two glasses of cocktail drinks for the price of one was strong enough to add some alcohol in our supposedly sober dinner. Bacuit Grill Bar and Restaurant [...]
From where I stood, I could see the sun paint the clouds pink as it began to kiss the horizon. The Poor Traveler was walking with friends to the beach and our excitement was just overflowing with each step towards the shore. As the sound of the waves stammering the name of the sea got louder, the thought of watching [...]
“Hey, look at this!” There she was, my friend Tonet, standing motionless before a gravestone; her eyes glued to the engraving. “It’s weird.” “What is?” I walked towards her. “Look.” Her finger led my eyes to two words in particular. Last seen. Usually, a gravestone has two lines written below the name of the departed — the date the person [...]
Coffins scare the hell out of me. I said it before and I’m saying it now — The Poor Traveler is not the Brave Traveler. There are so many things out there that terrify me. One of them is death. And most of the things related to it. The mere sight of a coffin is enough to make me shiver. [...]
We missed the sunrise. Although the original plan was to witness the sunrise from the Kiltepan Viewpoint on our last morning in Sagada, we still hoped we could catch the dawn as soon as we arrived. We tried to dodge the idea of waking up really early on our last day. Unfortunately, the sun was already up when we reached [...]
“Hey, come inside! Look!” Normally, when somebody excitedly invites me over to show me something, I get thrilled. But at that particular moment, I was not. And with good reason. My blogger friend had just emerged from the restroom and excitedly grabbed my arm to show me “something.” “Where are we going?” I asked. “Stop asking questions! Just come with [...]
Quarter-life crisis. I guess it’s starting to kick in. Almost every night since my 25th birthday I would just lie in my bed at night and think about my childhood. When I close my eyes, I try to relive the days when I would just spread my arms wide open and pretend to fly. I try to remember the day [...]
Earlier that day, when our Tour Guide announced that we had entered the city of Kuala Lumpur, I quickly moved to a window seat and started searching the skies for an imposing structure — the Petronas Towers. When I looked at our itinerary before this trip, I was familiar with these twin towers only. Prior to this trip, I had [...]
The Kuala Lumpur Tower, or Menara Kuala Lumpur, has become one of the most iconic landmarks in Malaysia. Completed in 1995, the tower is 421 meters (1,381 feet) tall, making it one of the tallest free standing towers in the world. The KL Tower, as it is more popularly called, was built to improve the quality of telecommunications and broadcast [...]
Our tour bus stopped in front of what looks like a cricket field. “We gonna play?” I mumbled. The green field lie in front of Tudor-style buildings that somehow reminded me of Old England. Malaysia was under British rule before. It was only when I caught a glimpse of the flag pole in the southern end of the field that I [...]
I was still trying to catch my breath when I reached the tour bus parked at Port Klang, Malaysia. The SuperStar Virgo had docked and our group was ready for a tour of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. It was a long walk from the ship to the bus. “Are we still waiting for anyone else?” asked our Malaysian tour [...]
Eating. Probably my favorite activity in the world. And it’s even more enjoyable on cruise! On board the SuperStar Virgo from Singapore to Port Klang, Malaysia, I found myself eating most of the time! To hell with my tummy, I would indulge in the many gastronomic delights aboard this lovely cruise ship! SuperStar Virgo houses several restaurants serving a variety [...]
There’s something about the smell of new books that excites me. Call me weird but I love putting my nose close to the pages as I flip them. I also love the feeling of my fingers running on the edges of the books and its virgin pages. It’s just addictive. Books give me life. That’s why when our very little [...]
After seeing the city from the Singapore Flyer, the group decided to have early lunch at the Singapore Food Trail, located at the base of the Wheel. The Singapore Food Trail is an open-air complex of food stalls offering a variety of Asian foods. But what really sets it apart from the other dining attractions in Singapore is the vintage [...]
