Confused About The National Museums? Here’s a Mini Guide

If you’re thinking of visiting the newly renovated National Museum of Natural History in Manila, you might find yourself confused about the complex for three main reasons:…

Want to Look Good in Your Passport or Visa Photo? Here’s What I Did!

Before 2018, the last time I looked decent in my passport photo was when I was a baby. For my driver’s license, I always look like a shady person, but I blame it on the Philippine government’s cheap ID card …

Sunblocks Are Killing Our Corals! What Can You Do As A Traveler?

My heart fell when I found out that sunscreen kills corals. Yes, the product we regularly slather to protect our skin from UV rays is damaging coral reefs worldwide. According to an environmental study conducted in Hawaii, just a small …

11 Days in Cebu and Beyond

If you’ve been following my blog this year, you’ll notice that I mentioned my “11-day Visayas backpacking trip” often. It was a memorable trip I organized for me and my European friend Tina, who went backpacking around the world. …

DIY Apo Island Trip? The Main Thing You Should Know Before You Go

When I tried to include Apo Island in my 11-day DIY Visayan backpacking trip, everything went wrong!

After asking dozens of locals in Cebu City and Santander Island for tips about Apo Island, my travel buddy Tina and I felt …

Moalboal Tips For Beginners

Most travelers go to Moalboal for its world-famous sardine run, but this sleepy coastal town 90km southwest of Cebu City has plenty more to offer. I spent three days, two nights (too short!) in Moalboal as part of my 11-day …

Dorkiest Travel Gear You’ll Secretly Want

Ah, the fanny pack—an oft ridiculed accessory, especially back in the ’80s and ’90s when movie stereotypes of nerds and dorks included the belt bag and its cousin, the pocket protector. But as we evolved into the noughties, what was …

Here’s What Replaced Toast Box PH

Hearts broke when news circulated that all Toast Box branches in the Philippines would close down on May 31, 2018. While there was no social media statement, word got around fast after fellow kopi tiam lovers spotted the official letter…

Beauty Products To Help You Survive The Heat

To describe the current Philippine weather as hellish would be an understatement. The heat index (actual temperature felt by the body based on air temperature and humidity) reached a dangerous 51°C in Nueva Ecija last month. In Manila, the daytime …

Everything You Need To Know About Getting To, From, and Around Siquijor

Public transport in a third-world country can be a highway to hell—or just purgatory on lighter days. Here in the Philippines, not all companies have websites or regularly updated Facebook pages. Even if you do get the commuting schedules (usually …

Siquijor’s Treehouse Adventure For Grownups

On the surface, Guiwanon Spring Park seems like another one of those tourist traps where you go just to take pictures and tick it off your to-do list. My travel buddy Tina and I kept missing this spot when we …

Where To Go During Boracay’s Six-Month Closure

Boracay’s six-month closure officially starts today, April 26, 2018. I’ve been silently keeping tabs on the situation, and sadly there are polarizing points of view from the government vs. the people. Personally, I’d rather hear it from those who know …

Ayan’s Local Foods: Siquijor’s Hidden Zen

One factor that makes Siquijor a mysterious island is that it’s not as Googleable as the other mainstream destinations. A lot of their accommodations aren’t listed on Agoda and other booking sites. Because Siquijor’s internet connection is intermittent, not all …

Hair Care For The Frequent Traveler

Travel can take its toll on your hair, whether you’re backpacking for a month or are just doing a weekend beach trip. Whatever hair type or length you have, you can keep your mane in tiptop shape while traveling…

Badian Canyoneering For Scaredy-Cats

Confession: I’m scared of heights. I may have all those Instagram posts where I’m perching on a mountain peak, rappelling down a cliff, and crossing a hanging bridge, but it took a lot of screaming and soliloquies before I actually …