№ 603. The Hippie Trail

majalahka.com

№ 460. Lonely Planet

Khao San Road

Ajahn Buddhadasa, a famous Thai monk who passed away in 1993, once told me, "You know why you like to travel? Everywhere you go, nothing belongs to you. When you're home surrounded by your possessions, you're weighed down."

I think he was right; it's liberating being stripped down to one suitcase, which is how I still travel, in the original Lonely Planet style.

№ 320. Paris Through Square Lenses

Spring 2014. Three years ago, we revisited the City of Lights. Still charming and, yes, expensive. But worth the visit, nonetheless.

A few of the Instagram pix I was able to dig up from my digital treasure chest / memory box.

№ 252. Solo Travel

Solo Travel Tips

Maybe it's time for a new adventure. Ticking off undone, unfinished businesses is exhausting.

№ 245. North Face Access Pack

Just saw this on Facebook streams.

It looks promising enough because of the easy access compartments and the streamlined look. It doesn't appear bulky especially for the urban commute. Read: MRT pressing and canning ordeal.

It's about time something new, more functional and, hopefully, less expensive than Tumi comes up. Please hurry up.



Happy New Year!

№ 168. Ordinary Risks

The sea wants to kiss the golden shore
The sunlight warms your skin
All the beauty that's been lost before wants to find us again

I can't fight you any more, it's you I'm fighting for
The sea throws rock together but time leaves us polished stones

We can't fall any further
If we can't feel ordinary love
And we can't reach any higher,
If we can't deal with ordinary love

№ 77. Beach Hives

Even if  the skin were lathered with thick, titanium sunscreen, 36 degrees sizzles it to a crispy, caramel hue fit for a fiesta centerpiece: our beloved lechon.

So we find enough excuses and leaves to kick off the dry season (aka summer) and dash to the nearest waterhole.

El Nido, check. Boracay, check. Palaui, Pagudpud and Panglao, check, check, check. But Siargao and Bantayan. Here we come.

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"Picking a favorite beach in the Philippines is like trying to pick a favorite child. 

Challenging, but not impossible. With more than 7,000 islands edged by white sand buffering turquoise waters filled with some of the world's most diverse marine life, not everyone will agree on which one is best. Disagree with our picks? Share your favorite Filipino island or beach in the comments box below.

 1. El Nido, Palawan

 

more fromcnngo.com

№ 12. Love After Love

Viewing Jackson Pollack at the MOMA, New York

№ 10. Calaguas & Bagasbas

The sea looked glassy and calm in the dusk that Saturday. It certainly belied the journey to Calaguas Islands and Bagasbas Beach, Camarines Norte.

№ 6. All Soul’s Day at S.21 (II)

“Better that one heart be broken a thousand times in the retelling… if it means that a thousand other hearts need not be broken at all.”

--- Robert McAfee Brown, Preface for the 25^th Anniversary Edition of Elie Wiesel’s NIGHT

№ 3. Backpacking in IndoChina: All Soul’s Day at S.21

A room on the third floor

The sign at the entry mandated propriety: no laughter. But noises no longer have to be contained. Or drowned with music. Only the enlarged pictures in each quarter have remained stoic sentinels of the violence inside.