I’ve conceded that retail therapy would always make it to the plan. It’s impossible not to in a place like this, where shopping constitutes its lifeblood. True enough, with no stringent itinerary, we found ourselves Lantau-bound once again, this time … Continue reading Hong Kong, My Incidental Healer
It’s been more than three decades since Chungking Expresswas released. Even before this trip came into plan, I’d been thinking of visiting Wong Kar-wai’s filming locations(the readily accessible ones, at least). Alas, we didn’t really have the luxury of time … Continue reading HK After a Decade, Part 2: Mid-Day at the Midlands
We start with this curious parallel. It was on January 23, 2015 when I arrived in Hong Kong with Marga. We were stationed in Yau Ma Tai, Kowloon for a five-day stay, one highlighted by a visit to Ngong Ping … Continue reading HK After a Decade, Part 1: Discovering Discovery Bay
Crossing over to Taipa took longer than expected, considering how close A-Ma Temple was to the sea. I guess it boiled down to the bus’s route. The one we boarded still had to take detours up North. Luckily, traffic wasn’t … Continue reading Sessenta Horas em Macau, Part 5: Taipa and Cotai Send-Off
The initial plan was to visit A-Ma Temple the day before. There was something emblematic about starting the tour in a spot so ancient, it even pre-dates the colony. It was a promising sequence. But then, given the proximity of … Continue reading Sessenta Horas em Macau, Part 4: A-Ma in the A.M.
After squeezing through the town center for three hours, we took a cab all the way to Avenida Sir Anders Ljungstedt, where Dom Galo is situated. This was where we finally had our Portuguese food fix, after 12 hours of … Continue reading Sessenta Horas em Macau, Part 3: The Fortress Up the Hill
So, this is how it feels to wake up in Macau. In our specific case, the crack of dawn revealed two exciting views outside our window. To the left is the colossal Macau Tower, which I’ve visited in my first trip. … Continue reading Sessenta Horas em Macau, Part 2: All Roads Lead to St. Paul’s
Let’s start with a quick pandemic throwback. One of my early lockdown highlights happened in June 2020, when I immersed myself in We Are One. It was a joint effort between Tribeca Enterprises and YouTube, held in lieu of that … Continue reading Sessenta Horas em Macau, Part 1: Ponta e Horta After Dark
It was a little past sunrise and I was running on a shallow nap. I couldn’t remember the last time I was surrounded by that many foreigners. All I know was, it was the first in a while. A few … Continue reading My Boracay Year-Starter, Part 1: Samplers and Throwbacks
I guess the confusion was imminent. As far as I can recall, Boracay didn’t have an eponymous airport. In the first place, it’s a misnomer to even call one such. Much as the island went through major overhauls recently, there’s … Continue reading Boracay Bounce, Day One
Considering I had one too many rounds in Mandaue the previous night, I was up curiously early – not early enough to witness the fluvial procession, but still early enough to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. It was the third Sunday … Continue reading Sinulog 2020, Part 3: Grand Parade in Mango Avenue
The first and last time the Yaps took us to Caw-Oy was back in 2002. It was a Good Friday, and I remember it igniting a petty spiritual quandary: if I enjoy seafood more than meat, is it still considered … Continue reading Sinulog 2020, Part 2: Lunch in Caw-Oy
Much as the first two instances barely count, this was going to be my third Sinulog. My qualms regarding the previous two stem from the fact that they were work-related. In both instances, I didn’t really have ample time to do … Continue reading Sinulog 2020, Part 1: Sutukil Before Sundown
With Or Without You blasted on Jad’s Spotify as we prepped for the day. Not like we needed the reminder, but it did set the appropriate mood for the hours that followed. It was the day of U2‘s concert – … Continue reading In the Name of Lah, Part 3: Kampong Glam Detour
It was our only window to reconnect with locally-based friends, so we streamlined our meet-ups at The Shoppes. Jaja went off to see a high-school friend, while the rest of us met with college orgmates. Ace and JK never met … Continue reading In The Name of Lah, Part 2: Marina Bay Meet-Ups
We thought it was the crack of dawn. But, then, we were reminded not to undermine the body clock-negating capacity of a windowless room. As we stepped out, we were disoriented by the sunlight as it pierced through the hallway … Continue reading In the Name of Lah, Part 1: Bok Bok, B*tches
It’s not very common for any Europe first-timer, among my peers at least, to have Scandinavia as the first stop. So when the opportunity presented itself earlier this year, I knew I had to grab it. True enough, the moment I stepped out of the plane that morning, it wasn’t just my first step in a country; it was also my first step in a continent. The last time I first set foot in a continent other than my own was when I visited my Dad in Chicago at age three. It felt surreal replicating that milestone thirty years later. And this was quite possibly the most fun I ever had hanging out with a group of dentists. That one, I’ll explain in a few…
The trip began on an anxious note. That much I established earlier. So, it’s a good thing that our second day fell on a Saturday. And with no one to inundate me over the phone that weekend, I actually did enjoy a Morning Calm (Don’t push it, Self). At that point, I resolved to look at the bright side of my ongoing murky situation and just take a breather: Just like that day’s destination, which endured a grim, shaky history before evolving into the visual spectacle that it is today.
Such is the peculiar case of Gwangmyeong Cave.
Continue reading “Saturday Spelunking: The Curious Case of Gwangmyeong Cave”
For the first time ever in a long-haul flight, I couldn’t sleep a wink. Back home, I was on the cusp of a major turning point, one that had been causing me weeks of anxiety. I was bound for rattling change, regardless of which choice I made. Not knowing whether it would happen during or after the trip was the killer. The uncertainty got the best of me. But I resolved to keep my plight from my travel companion, Marga, even for just four hours.
I won’t expound on that ordeal anymore, but I’ll say this: Life’s too short for us to be constantly threatened with disapproval. If something limits or, worse, consumes us, then it’s time to search for other avenues. But thankfully, really, this maiden Korean voyage was what it took to get my “Seoul” back. Pun gleefully intended.
Because of the major shift in our itinerary, we spent the last two days of our trip back in Hanoi. It’s a shame we couldn’t maximize the Halong Bay experience, but then again, there really is no bargaining with Mother Nature. On the bright side: Hooray for refunds and hooray for short-notice vacancies (Hanoi Chic Hotel, we love you already)!
Yes, crazy adjustments had to be made, but it was nothing a serving of spring rolls, stir-fried vermicelli, and a cup of Vietnamese coffee couldn’t fix.
Thanks to our bonus hours, we were allowed more leisure time in the capital:
Planet Chuckie 