Twas my first time to travel alone. Just wanted to see what all the Gringos are up to. Because for a Filipino, travelling alone is sad. We always travel abroad in groups. Fetched by a tour bus every morning where everyone is Filipino and we follow a man with a flag and a portable PA system. We wear identical stickers and sometimes even matching caps. I never thought that was weird at all until I met Dutch backpacker Maaike while diving in Donsol. I've never travelled alone. I usually just follow the smart one in the group whenever I'm at the airport. I never had to pay travel tax on my own. Being the youngest child in the Philippines means everyone takes care of you. So there are a lot of things that I didnt know ... read more

We opted for a package tour that included transfers from one place to another coz its apparently cheaper that way. 168 USD for a 4day 3 nights stay in a nice hotel (Rambler Garden) with free daily breakfast, with tickets to disney resort and ocean park with tour guide and a shuttle thats takes us everywhere and back to the hotel. The city tour was blah. I dont even remember much of it but the package tour said its mandatory. Thats because they take you to stores that theyre affiliated with. Like the souvenir shop that had expensive stuff. They also took us to a Jewelry store that the travel agency said sponsored the tour thats why its dirt cheap. We went to a harbour which was where one of the james bond movies was filmed. ... read more

Lau and Shelli were still undecided last wednesday when I asked them if we were good to go. So I looked for a travel buddy in travbuddy dot com and found Victor. Seemed like a nice enough guy whos about my age. Checked his facebook page to make sure that hes not a creep. He turned out okay. So I decided to meet up with him in Donsol. But Lau and Shelli decided to go in the last minute. So the three of us went together. It was my first time to go to the Bicol region. My first time in Araneta bus station. It was absolutely crazy! All the good buses were fully booked. We ended up in a crappy bus with cramped seats. The trip was supposed to take only 10 hours but the ... read more

It was midnight when we got to Thailand. The weather as I expected is exactly the same weather that we have in the Philippines. A lot less polluted though. Its pretty clean for filipino standards. We booked a room in Centrepointe serviced apartments near Pantip. Its in one of the shopping districts a couple of blocks away from Siam Center. We booked it online weeks before we arrived but when we got there there was no room available, but we already paid for it so they gave us the Presidential Suite! And sweet it was. It had a kitchen, big bathroom with bathtub, dining room, living room with big LCD tv. The bedroom was nice and it had a walk in closet. It was fabulous, I felt rich. They've got wifi too. The following morning a ... read more

Zambales is a province two hours north of Manila. My family likes to spend time there when we get bored during the weekend. The photos here were taken about six months ago. The ones where I had hair was taken a year ago. This is Baloy long beach just outside Angeles city. This is not the right place for you if you're looking for a wholesome time. Angeles is littered with hookers. In the Orchid Garden Hotel where we stayed, most of the guests were old white men with their Filipina companion. The waitresses were all thin pretty girls in bathing suits with wrap around short skirt. We only go there because its the nearest beach. The hotel was okay. It costs about 3,600 pesos per night. They have a pool, plasma tv with cable. The ... read more