backpacking

Why You Should Travel with KEEN Footwear [SP]

Posted on October 10, 2013

Adventure awaits wherever your feet take you! At first glance, my new pair of yellow and black KEEN Turia Sandals was already impressive in terms of style and design. But, of course, when it comes to outdoor footwear, it’s more than just good looks. Can my new pair of KEEN pass the litmus test of backpacking?  Excited to see how it performs on and off the road, I took my new “bumblebee” sandals on a 10-day road test from Cordillera toRead More→

My American Odyssey: 113 days, 50 cities, 22 states

Posted on January 24, 2013

Long time, no blog! My three-month hiatus from blogging was brought about by a big and busy transcontinental trip across the United States of America from September 15 to January 7. Here’s a rundown of what I did and where I went during my 113 days in America, as I sort out the grandest trip I’ve taken so far into blogable, bite-size entries in the coming months. I was sent by a health organization to work as a marketing communicationsRead More→

Jakarta Jaunt

Posted on August 19, 2011

Schooners moored at Sunda Kelapa, as they have since colonial times Like Manila, Jakarta suffers from an image problem. Tourists would rather skip this polluted, poverty-ridden and “dangerous” Southeast Asian megacity and scoot off to the cultural heart of Yogyakarta or the resort island of Bali, just as Philippine visitors would rather spend more time frolicking in Cordillera, Boracay, or Palawan. Nonetheless, Jakarta, like most Asian megacities, is an exciting primer to the country’s diverse culture, food and everyday life.Read More→

Unraveling Abra

Posted on July 20, 2011

“A tourist sees a place, while on the other hand a traveler seeks,” a friend of mine recently posted on Facebook. True enough, more than visiting popular spots, what excites me more about travel is discovering off-the-beaten track sort of places. Colonial edifices, like this one in Tayum, are some of the architectural heritage of Abra During a trip along Ilocos region’s northern coast, fellow travel blogger Gael of The Pinay Solo Backpacker and I detoured southward to avoid anRead More→

Train Travel in India: A Quintessential Backpacker Experience

Posted on June 6, 2011

Passengers alighting at Mughal Sarai Train Station Railway travel is very affordable and practical in India. Taking overnight trains is a great way to save on accommodation costs, and maximize your itinerary. And it’s also the perfect way to meet locals and immerse yourself in everyday local life. Overall, train travel is a quintessentially Indian experience every backpacker cannot afford to miss out on.   One can book train tickets at (a) train stations (b) travel agents or, most convenientlyRead More→

Colors of Kolkata

Posted on May 27, 2011

Hand-pulled tana rickshaw at Kumartuli “DISTRESSED? DEPRESSED? SUICIDAL?” a helpline ad at Rabindra Sadan metro station called out to me as I was helplessly swept out by a deluge of commuters onto the steamy streets of central Kolkata. It was well over 35 degrees, and the humidity instantly turned my sweat to soup. None of my senses were spared from the urban onslaught. In a maddening Morse code of blowing horns, the intersection coughed up a dizzying parade of cheddar-hued,Read More→