I had the auspicious chance of spending three days on this exquisite island some weeks ago and I was simply struck with awe for what it is: adorably beautiful and bewitching. Biri is an island municipality nestled in the northernmost tip of northern Samar, facing the Pacific Ocean to the east and the perilous San...
Category: Travel
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Uluru: In the heartland of the world’s oldest living culture
SYDNEY—Can you see it from up here? I asked my daughter Giselle while I was looking out the window as the plane descended. If it’s on this side and it isn’t cloudy, she replied. Seconds later, it came into view: Uluru, the mammoth red rock that is Australia’s most iconic natural landform and one of...
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Do you know the way to San Rafael?
Getting to Barangay Lico in San Rafael, Bulacan, was half the fun. My batchmates at St. Paul College (now a university) of Quezon City, high school class of 1973, decided to meet at the home of Baby, our classmate until the fifth grade, then travel to the Central Luzon province in a convoy. The car...
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‘Kasadyahan’ vs ‘Dinagyang’: A Battle of Festivals in Iloilo
ILOILO CITY—Ilonggos and their guests can expect a double treat of weekend revelry when the “Kasadyahan sa Kabanwahanan” and “Dinagyang” go centerstage one after the other on Jan. 27 and 28 in this city, in what looms as a face-off of festivals reflecting the dynamism of local culture, faith and tradition. “This year’s Kasadyahan is...
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On the way to Bayambang we drove north to Vigan
Five days before Christmas Day we went on a 24-hour road trip that took us to a Ghibli-inspired Christmas village, a 400-year-old watchtower, and a city with cobblestone streets and ancestral houses. The initial plan was to drive early in the morning to Bayambang, Pangasinan, to check out the Christmas village that features some of...
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Two days and one night in BTS Country
An overnight stay in South Korea might sound more like a layover than an actual vacation. But it was what made a recent trip to Seoul with my sister Kristine, our first together overseas, unique and memorable. Being the well-travelled one of two siblings, Kristine had been to South Korea thrice this year alone. Our...
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One island paradise, five worlds
To try to run across the length and breadth of Boracay is to catch a glimpse of at least five very different worlds. There is the world of White Beach and Bulabog Beach, of course. The world of low-budget and mid-range hotels; a world that looks increasingly more like Greenbelt or BGC but transplanted beside...
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Artist researching: Experience curves in Taiwan and Cambodia
A man in his rormork (the traditional and bigger version of the tuk-tuk) hovered near us outside the public market early one rainy October morning. We carried heavy backpacks and he asked in English: Need a ride? We actually did. But we had been accustomed to using the PassApp to book these local taxis. With...
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Food, friendship and more on a tour with a chef
FUKUOKA, HIROSHIMA, OSAKA—We came here to savor food that popular Filipino chef Sandy Daza has taste-tested and pronounced “exceptional” (for him, “good” is simply “not enough”). But the “Daza Japan Food Tour” of the three cities and their namesake prefectures on Oct. 20-25 offered participants more than just food. It also included visits to fish...
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What we discovered on a walking tour and a Pasig River Ferry ride
When my husband and I signed up for a heritage tour by Renacimiento Manila in September, we expected the usual daylong visits to old buildings and houses, with some historical trivia and eating stops on the side. But we got much more than that in this tour. We also found ourselves wondering why the government...