It was early morning when Monette literally pulled me out of the bed. We need to rush to Srah Srang in time for the break of dawn to witness the rumored “best place to see the sunrise.” According to most tourists: the most popular place during sunrise is Angkor Wat. So that means everyone is expected to flood the temple, and to avoid the crowd, we took the other path, a crowd like that of Phnom Bahkeng during sunset will defeat the purpose of watching the sunrise.
TIP: Most tuk tuk …

The first densely populated city in history should be credited to the Angkor Civilization. And the capital of this ginormous city is Angkor Thom. At its height, Angkor Thom may have governed a population of one million people in the surrounding area. Outranking Paris, London and Cairo.

Means “The Great City” in Khmer language, it was founded by Angkor’s greatest king, Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181-1219), who came to power following the defeat of the former Khmer capital by the Chams blah blah blah…
Angkor Thom was built in a nearly perfect square, the …

The Misa de Gallo, bibingka and puto bumbong
Kris Kringle and unwanted angel figurines
Carolers singing “… teng-kyu teng-kyu ambabaet ninyo! teng-kyu!”
Videoke with old friends and all sorts of parties happening left and right.
Divisoria shopping, congested malls and havaianas’ queue reaching the next floor.
Kids you don’t know showing-up in your doorstep.
Kids you know showing-up in your doorstep, claiming your 13th month pay.
Then you will find yourself the next morning after christmas, staring in to nothingness, with an empty pocket, plotting a kidnapping modus operandi. Afterall kids are then richer than the tax payers.
Nothing beats Christmas in the Philippines!
Maligayang …

The most faithful of all kisses is that of the sun on the rock. The sun’s rays would touch upon its face, never leaving it till it sets. And even at that, when the sun lends it’s light on the other side of the earth, and the earth is no more, there is still the rock and the kiss that never betrays…

The sun sets on our first day in Cambodia as we were led by a steady crowd up the stairs of Phnom Bakheng. It served as King Yasovarman I’s …

In the last couple of months, the pacific ring of fire has been under siege. And now, Mt. Mayon is on the verge of erupting.
The Country’s  most active volcano could erupt within days, officials warned Sunday after detecting a drastic surge in earthquakes and eerie rumbling sounds in surrounding foothills. Tens of thousands of villagers have been evacuated as a precaution.
Scientists raised the alert level for the Mayon volcano to one step below a major eruption after 453 volcanic earthquakes were detected in a five-hour span Sunday, compared to just …

Angkor Wat is comparable to Parthenon and the Coliseum. With it’s rich culture and history you would feel its soul haunting every block of stone of its temples. After several youtube clips and books I have read prior to our trip to Cambodia, I felt that every inch of Angkor Wat’s ornate wall got a story to tell.
So here’s a walk through on the first temple that we visited.
Angkorian temples follow an architectural model. Based on a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire’s state temples, the later plan of concentric galleries, and influences from Orissa …

Christmas is here, so what’s the best way to celebrate this joyous season than through love and giving, right?. So here’s our OFFICIAL HOLIDAY 2009 BACKPACKER’S WISH LIST:
hahaha
Ron’s Wish list

1. The perfect Narrow brimmed straw hat. This one may seem easy to find, but I’m telling you, I can’t find the one for me, I want it unembellished, narrow brimmed, soft and a bit ragged. now tell me where to find it.
2. Vacuum storage bags. I want to carry less baggage as much as possible. Who wouldn’t?
3. Victorinox Travel wallet (sling …

Ah the single life! I leave whenever I want, go home anytime I want and most importantly, travel anywhere I want. I value my alone time so much that when Ron and I and some friends from the office went to Ilocos, I stayed one more day while everybody went home. As was expected, I had a blast.
The morning of my alone day was spent in coffee and cigarettes while playing with our dog Coco in our house in Vintar. It was a was a Sunday and the flee market …

I’ve been reading stories of other wanderlusts and adventurers like us who documented their quest in search of this allusive enchanting place. Many who have seen it unanimously agreed that it is truly a drop of paradise. Some failed and has to experience the horror of getting lost in the middle of a pitch dark forest.

So with all the interesting stories of getting there and enjoying a dip, I sworn not to miss taking a chance of seeing this falls hidden in the middle of the lush terrain of Pagudpud—The …

First things first, there’s no airport in Vigan. The nearest airport is in Laoag, about 2 hours bus ride away. Cebu Pacific Air flies twice daily (to and from).  Vigan is a very small town, you can actually cover a complete itinerary in one day, so it’s a good idea to also check out other towns like Sta. Maria, Narvacan and probably some nearby beaches in La Union province.

For someone like me and Monette, this town is perfect to unleash the creative animals within us. She can just sit along …