In many inspirational and success quotes, I often see photos of rock climbers scaling seemingly impossible heights. Now, after rock climbing for the first time at Tinandog Wall, Atimonan, Quezon, and ticking this exciting activity off my bucket list, I understand why. Rock climbing is a perfect metaphor for life. What were once just inspiring…
I write this amid public outcry on the issue of the 52-year-old Philam Life Theater, which was for some weeks under threat of demolition. This theater in Manila is known for its performances of celebrated local and international musicians, and its excellent acoustics, designed by the same people behind Sydney Opera House’s acoustics. One of…
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…
I am blessed to know and have met – face-to-face or online – some inspiring, truly extraordinary women. Just by being who they are and doing what they do, they show or remind me not only about risks and adventures worth taking, but also how I can travel happily on the greatest adventure ever –…
Bold, bright native costumes. Powerful drum beats that vibrate through the heart. The quiet dignity of tribal elders and leaders as they walked through the streets. And, dances where indigenous past (the story of the people and their land) and present (precise steps choreographed by professionals) meet. Watching the indigenous tribes in Bukidnon dance in…
I am a local of Las Piñas City, home of the historic Bamboo Organ, declared a National Cultural Treasure, and so far known to be the only organ made almost entirely of bamboo in the whole world. Having lived in this city for more than 20 years, I am ashamed to admit that I have only…
(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…
Binondo, Manila is colorful enough any day, with bright charms, bracelets, and other gaily-colored wares for luck hawked on streets. But on Chinese New Year, though, the place bursts with color, sounds, and life. It was my first time to go to Binondo on a Chinese New Year this weekend, and I thought: “So this…
I posed this question to Gina Lopez, head of Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) (Linking Arms for Pasig River), an organization that works with government agencies to clean the heavily polluted Pasig River. She answered with a resounding, unfaltering yes. Several years ago, I would not have believed her answer. As with many…
A wide blue-gray river flowing into the horizon, bright green mangroves, and bamboo rafts turning almost golden in the sunlight greeted me and my travel companions as we crossed the bamboo bridge to Palina Greenbelt Ecopark in Roxas, Capiz. And save for a gentle breeze, all was quiet. In fact, we were the only people…
Traveling Light 