To be delighted by another person, or moved by a landscape or a work of art, requires not being in full control. -Meditations for Mortals | Oliver Burkeman I have always struggled with control. But don’t

During the last leg of my trip to New Zealand, I was in Auckland. This entire travel was just a rollercoaster ride. So many things have happened, both good and bad. I’ve had the best experiences, and also

The moment I stepped into the beach, I was blown away! How could this place exist? Here, of all places? Clearly, I have underestimated Northern Luzon. Admittedly, I have high standards when it comes to

Time, energy, and effort. All these things create expectations, and to an extent, a sense of unhealthy entitlement. What’s worse than unmeet expectations is the idea of snatched privilege. I spent an entire

A PEACEFUL WALK Have you ever been to a place and suddenly had a thought that you will never return to that place again? Not because you had a terrible experience (but that's a possibility too), but because

Tucked inside Manila is Binondo Chinatown, said to be the oldest Chinatown in the world. It was established by the Spaniards in 1594 to create a community for Chinese people. Nowadays, it's still full

I've been living in Singapore for several months now. I'm doing my PhD, so it's an entirely new chapter of my life. What I like about school (that's why I keep coming back), is that it has discrete endings

How do you capture the feeling of peace? of stillness? of serenity? How do you immortalize the afternoon light during a calm walk through a canopy of trees by the coast? Do you take photos? videos? write

What do you do when you're feeling restless and mad? Do you let it out in rage? It feels good to release pent up energy, right? But most of the time we end up doing or saying things we regret when we let

Trek to Celestial Garden It's been a year since I moved out of my parents' house. My girlfriend and I decided to get a condo in the upland part of the city. We spent months researching our options before

THE GOVERNMENT GARDENS After Escaping to a Dangerous Area to calm down my anxious thoughts and overcome my impostor syndrome, I was feeling lighter and in the mood for some more excursion. I attended a

There it is again. That pull. That inviting feeling. The appeal. The beguiling allure. Bantayan Island. There is something about this place, something strange, even mystic. I have gone through so many

What's up, Hive! It's been a while since I posted something, although I am still actively curating your travel posts in the WorldMapPin community. We recently had a refresher on how to improve our travel

Our trip to Baguio City early this year (2024) was really special. It was a lot of firsts for me and for my parents. I'm bringing all my posts here for a Collection. Burnham Park For our first day, we

LOKAL BREW I didn't know it then, but the coffee shop was going to be included in the coveted SunStar Best of Cebu list. A few years ago, a local newspaper started curating a list of establishments in

In my last post, I was grateful for Baguio City for a cold yet heartwarming trip. I spent my time there with my family. On the way home, it was another 5-hour drive to Manila. We didn't want to stop before

I haven't been posting a lot lately. If I were my younger self, I would have been extremely angry and disappointed in myself because of it. But this year, I am learning the Art of Gentleness. For such

Hello, Hive! A bit MIA lately, but I'm back! In this post, I'll continue sharing our adventures around Baguio City with you. Last time, I chronicled Day 2 of our trip, which we spent going to a strawberry

After spending the day hopping from one park to another, we were all exhausted, so we decided to take a break and grab a snack at Chocolate de Batirol. The restaurant is located in Camp John Hay, a former

What's up, Hive! It's getting quite cold here in the Philippines right now. And it's even colder up north. Record temperatures were logged in Baguio City. We went there last January and I got to experience