Someone asked me recently if I’m done with the honeymoon stage of living by the beach. I guess it seems like I’m on a perpetual staycation especially since we get to have these as our front and back “yards”.
The desire to set up our lives the way we want to live for decades to come became stronger as we grew weary of our humdrum city lives. What pushed us to go beyond our comfort zones? That lingering feeling of knowing that we have another purpose to fulfill. And with virtual work finally becoming the norm, we took the big leap in 2021 towards our new adventure.
I’m glad we never really saw Boracay during the time that it was considered a cesspool. This is another reason why we never found ourselves back in Boracay’s shores until just a few weeks ago. News of the ongoing rehabilitation got us curious and when our schedules freed up, I booked an impromptu trip for the family and decided to rekindle my love for the island.
If you want to take slowing down to the next level, Ybonita Farm and Villas can take you on that idyllic state in an instant. No wifi, spotty signal (for Globe users), and greens all around are the perfect ingredients for a slow weekend.
On my birthday in 2018, I was blessed to have been able to fly to Vancouver for a quick vacation. Perfect timing as I was able to experience its summer! I finally was able to understand why whenever my husband comes home from this city, all he talks about is the great outdoors.
I don’t have a bucketlist. I’ve tried making one, but the list got ridiculously long that I just told myself to grab almost every opportunity available and say yes to new things. Experiencing Masungi Georeserve would be one of the items included in that list, if I did continue writing it.
We gravitate towards remote and secluded places. We love conversations with just a handful of people and being able to freely roam around without worrying about going through a crowd. And that’s exactly what my husband Miguel gave us when he booked Qi Palawan for his 40th and my daughter Talia’s 12th birthday celebration.
Tokyo was nothing short of amazing but putting my experience in writing was quite daunting. So many stories and photos to share and we’ve barely scratched the surface of this beautiful city.
It’s all about slow living when you get to Sitio Liwliwa in San Felipe, Zambales. Who cares about spotty signal when you get to enjoy the sun, sand, sea, and sunsets every day?
Eat your way through 8 mouthwatering rooms of sugar-filled happiness at The Dessert Museum, an interactive eat as you play and learn experience located at S Maison Mall in Conrad Hotel Manila.
I try to look for new activities or places to visit every so often just to break the monotony of our school-work-school-work-school-work routine. And for this week, we spent it at a new trampoline park called Bounce!
An abandoned theme park in Lemery, Batangas was our playground for the day as we took time off from our usual production related work. Built in the early 2000s, the management behind Fantasy World couldn't see through the park's completion due to financial and corporate troubles.
On June 15, 1991, the wrath of a raging beast was felt not just in the Philippines but affected the entire world. Ash blanketed the metro and global temperatures dropped by about 0.5 °C for 3 years. Mt. Pinatubo took hundreds of lives and left thousands homeless. But today, she's blooming.
Considered the Historical Capital of the Philippines, Cavite is the province where the Philippine Declaration of Independence took place on June 12, 1898.
Sagada is a town in the Cordillera Mountains, within the Philippines’ Mountain Province. Popular attractions are the hanging coffins in Echo Valley, caves in Lumiang and Sumaguing, and freshly brewed mountain coffee.
It's summer time once again and it's making itself felt with this heat wave! Retreating to the beach for the next few months is a great idea but not really practical and friendly to the wallet. How about day trip recommendations instead?
Located in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines, Bohol is known for its beaches, coral reefs and unusual geological formations such as the Chocolate Hills.
Laguna is the birthplace of our country's national hero, Jose Rizal. It is famous for several attractions like the hot spring resorts in Calamba and Los Baños, the Taytay Falls in Majayjay, the footwear from Liliw, among others.
Santa Rosa, Laguna is predominantly a residential community located in southern Manila. The Nuvali area in Sta. Rosa is popular for their recreational complex which offers paths for leisure biking, off road trails for mountain biking, a water sports facility for wake boarding, a huge pond for koi feeding, and more.
Manila Bay, bay of the South China Sea extending into southwestern Luzon Island, Philippines. Almost completely landlocked, it is considered one of the world’s great harbours and has an area of 770 sq mi (2,000 sq km) with a 120-mi (190-km) circumference. Its widest diameter, from northwest to southeast, measures 36 mi. Corregidor Island, 30 mi west of Manila, divides the bay’s 11-mi-wide entrance into two channels—the seldom used South Channel and the safer, 2-mi-wide North Channel between Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor. (From https://www.britannica.com/place/Manila-Bay)
We end 2016 by being part of a wonderful initiative headed by The Lighthouse Marina Resort Legacy Foundation. Sampaloc Cove in Zambales is home to several indigenous families and we were part of this year's Lighthouse tradition of sharing blessings with the community.
Mactan Island is part of the Cebu province in the Visayas region of the Philippines. The main draw of this island is the island hopping trips in the Bohol Strait between Cebu and Bohol.
Travel back in time and explore this historic little town in Taal, Batangas.
Located at Barangay Abung, San Juan Batangas, Balai sa San Juan is situated on a 7 hectare property, blessed with 200 meter long beachfront, and various birds as well. With just about 2.5 hours away from Metro Manila, it's a "no frills" spot to unplug and unwind.
Clark and Subic are former US military bases in the northern island of Luzon, Philippines. These places are now among Asia's emerging tourist destinations.
Bali is an Indonesian island known for its forested volcanic mountains, iconic rice paddies and beaches. The island is home to religious sites such as cliffside Uluwatu Temple.
San Juan, La Union is one of the Philippines' surfing destinations and its close proximity to the capital makes it a popular spot for both tourists and locals alike. With the fifth longest coastline on the planet, San Juan has become the surf capital of the north over the last ten years.
Mt. Banahaw is an active volcano located in the middle of the Laguna and Quezon provinces. It towers over 7,000 feet high and is considered the tallest mountain in the Calabarzon region.
Our second trip to this open air heritage park still got us gaping at the amazing houses and Filipino craftsmanship all over the place. Visitors will always see something new in this resort because of the owner's ever growing collection of heritage houses.
The Bumbungan River (also called Pagsanjan River) is a major tourist attraction in Laguna, Philippines. The waterfalls for which it is famous for is called Magdapio Falls, or more commonly known as Pagsanjan Falls. The Eco Park was established where the river was dammed near the town center of Cavinti.
