Utah – that famed state of red rocks jutting out of great expanses of sand being grilled under a scorching sun that hangs above a cloudless blue sky. This is the land Archaic peoples have called home for millennia, before Puebloan, Fremont and Ute people took over as they scourged for food. Here, water, extreme heat (and at times extreme cold), and salt underground have conspired to create hundreds of crimson-hued rocks with amazing formations. That’s what runs through my mind as we leave Richfield and cruise through Interstate 70 to the Arches National Park. After a quick breakfast during a stop at a gasoline station somewhere near Richfield, we head for the park near Moab. As the road stretches to the desert, the plains soon give way to steep hills. Soon the sun ascends from ... read more

It feels very much like any morning in a hotel. I get out of my bed, wash my face, and prepare to go to the breakfast buffet. As I close our room’s door, an Indonesian housecleaner walks by. “Good morning!” he greets. Stuffing the door card in my pocket, I greet him back. But as I walk in the corridor dressed in two layers of shirt and a jacket, I have a palpable sense of excitement. I’m not in an actual hotel; I’m inside the 11-deck Rhapsody of the Seas, headed to Southeast Alaska for the next seven days along the Inside Passage. Here’s the plan: we board the ship in Vancouver on Friday afternoon, reach Juneau on Sunday morning, Skagway on Monday, and finally Ketchikan on Wednesday, before disembarking in Seattle the next Friday. It’s ... read more

Cebu City has long been thought of nothing more than a Visayan gateway, a quick stopover for travelers on their way to something more interesting or languid. But this image is quickly becoming old-fashioned in a region that has seen record number of tourist arrivals in recent years. In 2011 nearly two million tourists arrived in the island, and the figures rose by around 11 percent in 2012. Property developers are seeing the potential of Cebu City and are planning to focus on tourism starting this year. Much of the sprucing up takes place in the uptown area, especially around the Cebu I.T. Park across the Waterfront Hotel. The park has several popular chain restaurants, which serve as the hangouts of yuppies who work in neighboring call centers. The Waterfront is an attraction in itself -- ... read more

Pitch black. Silhouettes of palm trees are barely recognizable against a starry sky. The air is humid, and the ocean is still – the absence of the sun has done nothing to lower the dry season’s broiling temperature in the evening. The narrow trail across a forest is only visible through the flashlights that inform us of barbed fences precariously lining the sides of the path and the imposing forest beyond swallowed by the darkness. Crickets form a steady rhythm of calls to accompany the sound of our steps and occasional heavy sighs. It’s already 8 p.m. when we reach an inconspicuous stretch of coastline hidden from the main highway by a thick dense of trees. The sky is filled with a dizzying array of constellations. Adjusting my backpack, I follow five well-built men as they ... read more

We’re sauntering along the bridge between Sentosa and VivoCity on an overcast afternoon. Ships are docked at the nearby harbor. A group of teenage girls are with their tummies on the floor trying to take their picture with the ocean as the background. They’re all giggling, a very much different display from the deadpan expression I’ve come to associate with Singaporeans. My friend – and tour guide – Rhea tells me that it’s such a delight to see those girls. I’m not sure how to take that statement, so I ask. “What do you mean?” “Singaporeans are so preoccupied with their jobs or academic life,” she says matter-of-factly. “It’s fun to see them letting their hair down once in a while.” It’s true that Singaporeans can be a bit stuck-up and pushy – a stark contrast ... read more