Amid the city’s mall and commercial establishments, I had walked into a Zen garden. At the center of the hall, white, blue-gray and flaming orange pebbles swirled in mandala-like patterns. From each mandala rose bright green shrubs and bushes or twisting driftwood, accentuated by rocks of varying shapes. And, while the skies were gloomy and…
While the skies were a gloomy gray monochrome last Saturday, the stadium and grounds of Leyte Sports Development Center at Tacloban City, Leyte, were in a festive mood. Though the morning street dance was regrettably canceled because of the continuous downpour, the afternoon performances of the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival contingents adorned the stage with vibrant, dancing…
Something you have to try at least once in your life. Photo from Atimonan Rock Climbing After taking home an amazing, almost transcendental experience from rock climbing and enduring life lessons to go with it, I have become a convert. No, I do not plan to regularly come face to face with those towering and…
For the record, I don’t play Candy Crush. I know enough of its addictive quality from friends and acquaintances for me to even start. I have seen from their screens just how colorful the game can get, though, with candies forming vivid rainbow piles…and then getting crushed. Candy Crush’s colorful candies are reminiscent of my…
Piolo, a child with coffee-colored skin and the curliest hair I have ever seen, handed me a wild rambutan, smiled shyly up at me, and joined the other children. They and a few adults ate the tart red fruit while sitting outside a makeshift home from wood. Others also sat outside their homes, seemingly content,…
Photo by Howard Chalkley via Flicker Creative Commons This is a paid guest post. Saddle up this summer and enjoy discovering places you’ve never had the fortune to visit before. Cycling holidays give you the opportunity to accomplish new challenges and the summer months are a great time to take the plunge and go for…
Dear Calaguas, Before I met you, I was already in love with you. I heard from friends and learned from blog entries like this that you are an unspoiled paradise of powdery white sands and crystal clear waters, quiet and uncrowded, just like Boracay before its commercialization. And when I finally went to see you…
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” -Anaïs Nin One summer day, the child discovered she lived in a big, big world and promptly fell in love with it. Undaunted by its size, she started exploring her own…
As promised, here is Part 2 of my tips on planning and making the best of your Apo Reef adventure, based on my trip with friends over two weeks ago. Here’s Part 1 to those who have not read it yet. See also our expense breakdown at the end of this post. 5) DO find…
Delayed bus trips. Hot and sticky ro-ro rides. Long and picturesque boat rides. Taking a dip on impossibly clear waters mirroring the sky’s blue. Sleeping under the stars. Getting woken up by humongous sea turtles on the beach. Beach bumming on creamy pinkish-white sand. Getting feasted on by sea lice. Communing with colorful corals and…
Traveling Light 