It’s graduation month here in the Philippines. As graduates march away from their old lives, I think not of my own college graduation but of the beliefs I left behind just less than a year ago – beliefs I knew I should give up if I were to walk the path of adventure, particularly when…
(UPDATED 2019) Heartbreak is never easy. And, to nurse a broken heart during Valentine’s Day, or the days before or after, is one of the worst kinds of torture. Reminders of coupled bliss are everywhere – roses, chocolates, cards, fancy restaurants offering Valentine specials, and of course, the happy couples themselves, a club of which…
To be honest, compared to the many inspired and motivated people I know or read about, I don’t have a New Year’s resolution or a big, hairy goal for 2013. (These people have my admiration.) Perhaps later I will have one of those goals that so excite me I can’t sleep, much like the time…
I read somewhere that once in your life, if you are lucky, you will meet that person who will forever divide your life into the time before you met him or her, and the time after. Such is the impact of that person in changing your life. This 2012, it was not a person for…
There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t met yet. ~William Butler Yeats At no time did this saying feel truer in my life than when I traveled solo for nearly two months. Back then, I met strangers who accepted me as part of their family or as a friend. There were also strangers…
It was my first official day of traveling solo in my 7-week backpacking adventure. Feeling excited and just a little scared, I bade goodbye to my friends bound for Manila while I headed to the port in Ubay, Bohol, with boat trips to Hilongos, Leyte. From Hilongos I would be taking a van to Tacloban…
During my adventure around Visayas, I had some of the most amazing and unbelievable experiences of my life. I leaped out of my comfort zone by meeting new people, turning strangers into family or friends, exploring remote areas where I had not the faintest idea where to sleep that night, and trying new things I…
I originally wanted my title to be “How Travel Made Me the Richest Person in the World.” I thought that would be a bit of an exaggeration, though. Or maybe not. Because in truth, during my seven-week adventure around Visayas, I felt like the richest – and most blessed – person in the world. Why?…
I just arrived in Manila yesterday, and as I look back at my adventures in my seven weeks around Visayas, I am filled with awe and gratitude. There are so many things I am grateful for, though here are some of my firsts which took me out of my comfort zone and sounded crazy to…
Tomorrow I am going off on a seven-week backpacking trip all over Visayas. To say that I am bursting with excitement mixed with just a little fear at my first long and mostly solo travel is an understatement. In every trip I took, the longest of which was nine days so far, there was always…
Traveling Light 