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Weekend in Quezon: Swimming in Pagbilao and Love in Lucena
Spending an afternoon on a beach in Pagbilao, Quezon is a refreshing escape from the usual tourist-heavy coastal destinations near Metro Manila. It’s around 3 in the afternoon, and I have spent the last half-hour alternately dipping myself in the ocean water and walking along a pebbly beach. My parents, my sister, my brother, and…
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Dine In: Small Talk Cafe
Bicolano cuisine is one of the most popular regional cuisines in the Philippines, so part of the fun of going to the Bicol region is getting to sample its dishes. One of the most famous restaurants serving Bicolano fare is Small Talk Cafe in Legazpi, Albay. This cozy little place in the heart of the…
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Legazpi City: More than Mayon
Back in Legazpi City, I immediately resume my walking tour, this time walking to Ligñon Hill from the main highway. However, it turns out that the park is closed due to renovation. All’s not lost, though, as I am rewarded with this shot of Mayon as it starts to hide behind a blanket of clouds:…
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A Magayon Start to 2022: Exploring Daraga and Mayon Volcano
January 2022 was supposed to be when I would resume international travel. Unfortunately, I had to postpone the trip because, well, pandemic. My plan B was then to go to Siargao, but since the province is still reeling from last month’s Typhoon Odette, I switch to Plan C. Unfazed with the heightened restriction alert due…
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2021 Yearend: A Road Trip to Southern Rizal
Southern Rizal province at 60 kilometers an hour whizzes by like a highlight reel for a classic provincial road trip: mountains, rice fields, an auspiciously blue sky, and an empty highway. It’s a sunny December afternoon, and my parents, having had experienced a couple of road trips to Tagaytay the past few weeks, wanted another…
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Panglao Island: Downtime by the Beach
I spend the rest of my time in Bohol just lounging around Panglao Island, dividing my time between Dumaluan Beach and Alona Beach. My resort, the Marilou Resort is in the former. It’s a budget resort with a great beachside location and clean, spacious rooms. It’s also beside Bohol Beach Club, a more expensive resort,…
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Balicasag Island: Turtles (and Other Marine Creatures) All the Way Down
Part of my tour — well, actually an optional addition — is an island-hopping trip one morning to Balicasag Island. The island is a 45-minute boat ride from Panglao Island and is administratively part of the municipality of Panglao, but it might as well be a world away. Balicasag Island is ringed by a coral…
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The Bohol Countryside Tour
Every first-time tourist to Bohol does the so-called countryside tour, especially if visiting via a packaged tour. The tour crams as many sites in the province’s interior as possible in a day. It’s not my first time in Bohol, but seeing that my last visit was in 2005, it might as well be. My memories…
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Tagbilaran: Getting Back on Track
Before the pandemic, Bohol has become a darling in the local travel circuit. Foreigners have been flocking to this Visayas island for the range of attractions it offers, most famous of which are the white-sand beaches of Panglao Island and the dive sites off its coast. Of course, Filipinos know the Chocolate Hills and the…
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Amadeo: Balite Falls and a Cup of Coffee
As the COVID cases decline, quarantine restrictions continue to ease up as well. Interprovincial travel is allowed once more, and people spilling out of Metro Manila even during weekdays has resulted in much heavier traffic in major thoroughfares. This doesn’t stop us one weekday. I resume my every-other-week exploration of Cavite province, though this time…
The Tourist Gaze
A Traveling Outsider Looking In
The Tourist Gaze 