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Ferry From La Ceiba To Utila Honduras: Utila Princess

An Afro-Honduran superwoman in the guise of the hotel’s lone staff (receptionist/snack bar attendant/bellman/security/guide book/whew!) hustled us to the door like a mom would to her child who’s late for school. While the hubby hailed a taxi in the middle of a still-sleepy street market next door, she stood beside me, trying to call cabbies…

Hulhumalé, Maldives: A Newborn Artificial Island

Our low-cost airline flight provided an on-board entertainment that surpassed all others we’ve experienced… The spectacle of Maldives’ islands, strung together like a jewel necklace, sitting oh so pretty in the middle-ish of Indian Ocean nowhere. It was one of those travel moments filled with imaginative swear words, muttered under the breath. Hulhumalé’s public beach….

2Go Travel: Batangas-Boracay (Via Caticlan) Route

Late afternoon on a Sunday, mid-March, Batangas Port Terminal 2 looked glum and abandoned from the outside. Our van circled the lonely two-story structure until we got to its main entrance. Summer was just about to start in the Philippines, and the crew of GMA News TV’s Pop Talk were off to an early sun…

Withlocals.com: Going Local With Locals

Immerse. Have we not heard this countless times from seasoned travelers? And have we not thought of this as — now let’s be honest here — a gargantuan task to fulfill?  When on the road, going local is how I usually roll. Many years of backpacking taught me how to trust in the good of…

Kalinga, Philippines: How To Get To Buscalan

I was still reeling from the effects of the eighteen-hour bus+jeep rides and the one hour hike. But with one look at the tinay’talu (rice bundles) pattern in Lane Wilcken’s book Filipino Tattoos: Ancient To Modern — which we borrowed from mambabatok Whang-Od/Fang-od — I knew I unintentionally found a mark that will finally represent…

Backpacking Timor Leste (East Timor)

Unspoilt natural resources. Nonexistent skyscrapers. Grieving aged walls. Palm-fringed sandy shores. Beachside bars minus Bob Marley clichés. Unadulterated fresh seafood on the grill. Pink sunsets. Mikrolets. Dusk-colored leathery skin. Genuine smiles. Malaria. U.S. dollars. UN workers.  The Democratic Republic of Timor Leste is Southeast Asia’s youngest. Like my home country the Philippines, it is further…

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