My twenty four hours in Singapore were ticking away quickly. As night drew near, I set off for my blind-friend-date. My travel buddy Heather, who I was traipsing around The Philippines with, had a friend who had recently moved home to Singapore and readily agreed to meet me for dinner.

Once we found each other, she asked what I was in the mood for — Western style restaurant food, or Asian style street food? Ya’ll know that I was starving for a burger after three weeks in The Philippines, but I didn’t want o be the one to admit it! So I made some enthusiastic noises about street food, and we set off for Makansutra Gluttons Bay.

I’m so glad we did. In reality I have grown to love Asian cuisine, and Adi spoiled me with dish after dish of Singaporean specialties. Gluttons Bay is a nice spot — somewhere I would bring my parents for dinner, a kind of Street Food for Beginners area with ample seating, English signage, and an unusual air of sanitation.

To walk off the obscene portions we had just consumed, we walked along Marina Promenade, drinking in the glittering skyline views. Everything I had seen earlier, from The Artscience Museum to the rows of skyscrapers to The Helix bridge seemed to take on new life with the bright lights they gave off.

When I told Adi about my earlier adventures at Gardens by the Bay, she insisted we go back to see it at night. Thank goodness she did — I was awed.

Most of the crowds had gone home by this point — it was just us and our Avatar fantasies. The trees pulsed with lights, changing color and rhythm as the moments ticked by. If I didn’t know any better — and wasn’t well informed of Singapore’s anti drug policies — I might have wondered if Adi had slipped something in my meal.

When I finally dragged myself away from Gardens By the Bay, it was only because I was at the point of complete and total exhaustion and near physical collapse. After a night of three hours of sleep, an epic journey to the Clark airport outside Manila, and a flight to boot, I had hit the ground running in Singapore and didn’t stop until I collapsed in my hostel bed after midnight — with my alarm set once again for just a few hours later. There’s no doubt about it — twenty four hours in Singapore just isn’t enough, except in one sense. It was just enough to assure me I want to go back.

Of course I couldn’t leave Singapore without one major blonde moment, right? I’ll just go right ahead and give you the dialogue from my early morning flight onto Bali –

“I’m looking for the international terminal.”

[Pause.]

“Ma’am, this is Singapore. ALL terminals are international.”

Keepin’ dumb blonde jokes alive since ’89.

Have you ever spent just twenty four hours in a destination? Was it enough to tick it off your list?

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Google Reader, my beloved tool for keeping up with favorite blogs, is going the way of the travelers’ check (or the dodo, as the more traditional saying goes). On July 1st, Google Reader will shut down for good.

My stats tell us that many of you choose to follow Alex in Wanderland’s RSS feed via Google Reader — more than 250 of you, in fact. Let’s wipe our tears and talk options.

There are alternatives to Google Reader that you can try out. Personally, I’ve switched to Feedly and I’m loving it. It’s a much more beautifully designed interface and I love the iPhone app.

However, if you want to ensure that you never miss a post from Alex in Wanderland, — and really, you never know when I’m going to post an urgent photo of mango sticky rice — may I suggest that you sign-up for my email updates? This free service will deliver new posts 3-4 times a week, and ensures that you never miss a misadventure.

Anyone else mega bummed about the impending death of Google Reader? Let’s commiserate in the comments, geek-style.

As I sat in my Bangkok hotel room frantically booking a flight out of the Philippines — I had just heard that immigration was strict in their dislike of one-way flights into the country — I stumbled upon an interesting loophole. There were no direct flights from Manila to Bali (weird, right?) and the cheapest options actually allowed for a twenty four hour layover in Singapore.

And just like that, I added a new country to my itinerary.

I never had much of a calling to visit Singapore. Despite my mother’s pontificating on what a wonderful city it was, (or let’s be honest, perhaps because of it — I was a surely teenager at the time [and now I'm a surly young adult, thank you very much]) I always thought it to be a rather bland and sterile metropolis. Still, I’m not one to turn down a free visit to a new city and the chance to add a new stamp to my passport.

Speaking of, I’ve been vocally quite opinionated in the past about what does and does not belong on a personal Country Count. I’m sorry, but layovers where you don’t leave the airport do not count! Border runs where you get your passport stamped, buy some black market whisky and turn right around do not count! The jury is still out on four hour cruise ship stops and nights spent at airport hotels. And why yes, as a matter of fact, someone did die and make me Queen of Country Counting.

All of that ranting is only to explain that if I was only going to have twenty four hours in Singapore, and I wanted to scratch it off my world map, I was going to have to make the most of every minute. After arriving at Singapore’s immaculate airport and sailing through immigration and security — can we get an award for Asia’s most efficient airport up in here, please? — I took the $9SGD (about $7USD) shuttle that dropped me directly at the door of my accommodation for the night. The colorful and trendy Matchbox Hostel was the perfect base — great location, free breakfast, Nutella included, and an original bed layout that provided lots of privacy and noise and light blocking.

I basically threw my bags around, grabbed a map, and hit the pavement immediately — okay, fine, there may have been a Nutella snack break involved. Matchbox is located in the heart of Chinatown, and this photogenic and vibrant neighborhood showed me right away that I had been all wrong about Singapore.

As my daylight hours were ticking away I didn’t linger to explore the area’s temples or mosques, or browse through its tempting markets. Instead, I tucked those ideas away for a future visit and strolled up South Bridge Road towards the river.

When I reached the mighty Singapore River, I found a lively riverfront lined with bars, restaurants, cafes, and backed by beautiful colonial buildings. I was particularly enamored with the rainbow-inspired paint job on the MICA building (Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts).

At the airport I had spotted an ad for a special Buddhism exhibit at the Asia Civilizations Museum, and quickly factored in a stop there on my mental itinerary. After paying my $4SGD ($3USD) special student rate — okay, so technically I’m no longer a college student, but I don’t think using my old ID is really cheating, right? I’m still a student of the world! — I spent the next hour in air-conditioned, culture-absorbing bliss.

First I hit up the permanent exhibit on the history and significance of the Singapore River, which was a fascinating slap in the face of how little I actually knew about this diverse city nation.

Next I hit up the special exhibit Exploring the Cosmos, the Buddhist symbol-based show that had brought me to the museum. There were some beautiful works that were new and original to me, but even more that had me doing a double take. They just seemed so familiar. Then I saw a curration list posted by the exit, and saw where many of the works had come from: The National Museum of Thailand in Bangkok, The Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap, and the Phra Narai Ratchaniwet Museum in Lopburi. I had now followed these paintings and sculptures across Southeast Asia!

Exiting the museum and back on the sweaty streets, I crossed back over the river and walked towards Marina Bay. With every step the skyscrapers shot higher and the buildings newer and shinier.

Pausing for photos at Merlion Park, it was difficult to line up a shot without other people in it — I had suddenly found the tourist crowds I had been wondering about before! Of course, I could see what all the fuss was about. The famous Marina Bay Sands building towered over the bay, with the lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum squatting in its shadow.

At this point it became somewhat difficult to find a straight walking path — I felt at times like I was back in Vegas, where there is now way to get from Point A to Point B without taking seven escalators and a pedestrian bridge. But I forged forward, and finally made it around the bay to Marina Bay Sands.

While I would have loved to see the famous roof deck and have a drink there, my wallet was feeling slim after The Philippines and I decided to stick to sub-$10 activities on this visit. Just stepping foot on the observation deck would have set me back $20SGD.

I was only there to cut through, anyway. And after a few false turns, an elevator ride, and a walkway, I found it: My true destination, and my first priority for this trip to Singapore, was Gardens by the Bay.

Awkward selfies prove it: I was there!

Months before, I had seen a single, full page close up photo of a Gardens By the Bay sculpture in a travel magazine. I had ripped the page out and stuffed it in my backpack and forgotten about it until the day I booked that flight. While the photo had intrigued me, I had no idea the true visual treat that awaited me in person.

Standing in the shadow of these massive, interactive, living sculptures, I truly felt that I was in wanderland.

The conservatories that are part of the botanical gardens carry heavy entrance fees, but walking around the bases of the Supertree Grove is free — and the Skywalk is a mere $5SGD ($4USD). The trees are as tall as sixteen story buildings, and are embedded with futuristic solar energy-harvesting photovoltaic cells (full disclosure: I have no idea what that means). The Grove’s residents also covered in a “living skin” of more than 200 species and varieties of orchids, ferns and tropical flowering climbers so that they will continue to grow and change over time.

The sun would soon set, kicking off my one night in Singapore (stay tuned!) But my short visit could have been clipped to this moment and it would have been enough for me to declare it a success. Gardens by the Bay was the undeniable highlight to this funny destination — a city I not long ago had mentally dismissed, but now could not wait to return to.

Have you ever been to Singapore? What do I need to return to see?

Did you enjoy this post? If so, please consider sharing on Facebook, Twitter, or via Email through the icons below. Also, I’d love to keep sending you updates about my (mis)adventures around the world, so please subscribe to Alex in Wanderland via RSS or by email below!

As I packed for my most recent five month trip to Southeast Asia, my fourth such journey in as many years, I vowed that my next flight abroad would be to a new region of the world. I felt certain that the next time I put down my passport, it would be somewhere in Latin America.

Then I got to Gili Trawangan.

I haven’t even started blogging about this portion of my trip yet (the problem with perpetual travel is that I’m always behind in covering my adventures!), but those of you who read my Photo of the Week series or follow me on Instagram watched in real-time as I slipped into a blissful routine on this little spit of sand. I could tell you all about the fantastic underwater world I encountered while I did my Divemaster course, the peaceful bike rides I took around the island’s five-mile circumference at sunset, the little yellow room with a balcony that I rented for my stay. But that’s not really what you want to hear about, right?

You want to hear about how I met someone.

I feel obligated to point out that this is a costume.

The entire concept of dating when you live out of a backpack is so fascinating, I truly could write a book on it. Any rule you’ve ever played by, mused over or heard about goes out the window. There’s not much “should I text or will he?” agony when at best one of you has a disposable Nokia cell phone, and you tend not to worry so much about long term compatibility or other practical matters when you’ll both be in different countries by the end of the week.

It’s the same with any relationship on the road, romantic or not. One day you’re strangers, and soon after you spend every waking moment together without a thought to what the repercussions might be. Can you image going on a date with the same guy more or less every single day for six weeks straight, since the day you met him, in New York? Or moving in with a new friend after a few days of knowing each other? And then boom, one of you takes a different trajectory and that little chapter in your life is over with the purchase of a plane ticket.

So all of this is my long winded way of saying that when I started spending every waking moment with one of the dive instructors at the dive shop I was doing my course at, I didn’t really think much of it. I figured we’d have a little holiday romance, we’d part ways with a kiss and a smile, and maybe someday we’d be lucky and our paths might cross again.

But then could I really help it that this guy had an adorable Danish accent, and a ridiculously charming smile, and that he used both when he looked at me and spoke to me using my full name, all four syllables? Al-ex-an-dra. Or that he knew exactly how to comfort me when I felt anxious, and just what to say when I was having a bought of the crazies, and most importantly brought me breakfast in bed when I was hungover? And that he made me laugh every day, and that he looked really good in a wetsuit? And did I mention that Danish accent? I AM NOT MADE OF STONE, PEOPLE.

As time ticked on and my departure became nearer on the calendar than my arrival, I actually started to dread that inevitable goodbye. And it wasn’t just him. I had made amazing friends, I loved the diving, and I enjoyed the return to small-island life. I wasn’t ready for my Gili Trawangan chapter to end.

So then, one day, the manager of my dive shop mentioned she could use a little extra help around the high season. And she pointed out that a little Divemaster experience would look great on my underwater videography resume. And I consulted my calendar and found a six week window. And then I looked at plane ticket prices and I fainted.

I’ve had my hesitations. Those of you who have been reading for a while know that my last real relationship ended brutally, and it took me a long time to feel like myself again. I’ve dated since, but I’ve backed away when things started to get serious. And I’ve grown to so cherish my independence, it’s hard to imagine sharing the reins of my life with someone else again. But as a new, wise friend recently said to me — “YOLO, and not in the way that kids use to justify doing stupid shit.” Rather, as in, You Only Live Once — and so recognize when something rare and good is happening to you.

On July 1st, I fly back to Indonesia for six weeks. I have no idea what the future holds beyond my return flight. But in the meantime, this is Anders. You’ll be seeing a lot of him around here.

Time was up. Heather and I had only days left in the Philippines. Being a bit of a lazy traveler myself, I was more than content to beach-bum away our remaining days on Malapascua. I’m also pretty easily influenced, however, and so Heather didn’t have much trouble convincing me to add just one more destination to our itinerary — Bohol.

We were enticed for a variety of reasons. Bohol was a close jaunt from the Cebu airport we’d be flying out of a few days later, Lovely Planet promised us a “distinct traveler atmosphere,” and it had both a lush jungle interior and a happening beach scene — and neither of us had had a night out together since arriving in the Philippines.

After a near-disastrous day of travel that I promise to regale you with later (note to self: plan ahead when traveling in Christian countries during Holy Week), we finally arrived on Bohol and made it to our destination in Alona Beach. After yet another Holy Week mishap that almost had us sleeping on the beach, Heather saved the day by booking us into a hotel that far exceeded my budget, and we set out to explore.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

To be honest, we weren’t wildly impressed. The beach had nothing on the fine sands of Malapascua, and there was none of the charm of dilapidated seaside Donsol. Mainly we found a beach packed towel to towel with families and domestic tourists. We did have a two fun nights out — one of which ended with a wildly successful four person, one motorcycle experiment, proving that good things actually do happen when you hop on the backs of strangers’ motorbikes  — but that was more due to our own determination to have a good time than anything really exciting going on around us.

Not enticed to spend time two more days paying for overpriced drinks on a so-so beach, we decided to use the rest of our time to explore Bohol’s interior. We snagged a rental bike (600 pesos per day) but were met with blank stares when we asked about map, so we stop at the Tourism Office in the capital city of Tagbilaran to pick one up. They do have a map, but when we ask for a breakfast place suggestion they recommend Jollibee’s, which is basically the Filipino McDonald’s. Next, they ask if we are Catholic, and giggle uncontrollably at our negative response. It is an appropriately bizarre start to another day in the Philippines.

Photo by Heather Holt

We marveled at how quickly we transitioned from beach town to dumpy city to beautiful forest. We drove in silence, drinking up the cool, crisp air and the empty roads.

Can you even spot the tarsier in his habitat here?

Photo by Heather Holt

Hopping back on the bike, we headed towards deeper into Bohol’s interior. I had read about a place called Nuts Huts, a backpacker hideaway with a great view of the Loboc River. When we reached the rocky dirt path that led there, we almost called it quits a few times — we were on a rental bike in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone service, after all — but I’m so glad we forged ahead.

Nuts Huts was not only charming and idyllically located, but exuded a true backpacker atmosphere that I had found to be almost completely lacking in the Philippines. Rooms were basic but the setting provided great opportunities for unique adventures in the nearby area, all marked on a wall-sized map of the river. The only thing I didn’t like about the place was the fact that there was no wifi, and the somewhat pretentious note in the menu that explained that this was on purpose. Okay, I get it — you want me to commune with nature rather than update my Instagram feed. But not everyone can afford to go offline for a few days without lots and lots of preparation — I get that I’m the exception and not the rule, but don’t give me even more traveler guilt. Jeez.

Photos by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

We left Nuts Huts dreaming of having a few more days to spend there, swimming in the river and exploring the nearby caves. Ah well, hindsight is twenty twenty. Our next stop was spontaneous and unplanned — the best kind. While lazing around at Nuts Huts, we had heard the adrenaline-induced screams of zipliners flying over the river. Following the road along the river, we found Loboc Eco-Tourism Adventure Park. For just 350 pesos (less than $9), we were able to strap in and zip superman-style across the great river gorge and back.

To see us in action, check out my Philippines Highlights video, if you haven’t had the chance.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt — can you spot me in the back?

Our next destination was the hyped up Chocolate Hills, prominently displayed on every other tourism poster ever produced in the Philippines. I was suspicious they would be a let down — it’s just a bunch of mounds of dirt, am I missing something? But as we rounded the side of the mountain viewpoint at dusk, I was actually impressed by the endless rows of perfectly formed hills. I was even more inturuiged when I read that scientists believe the hills were formed by the

I’m sad to report that not even one person was selling hill shaped chocolates – hello, missed opportunities! However, it wasn’t exactly a serene scene. The place was mobbed with Filipino and Korean tourists who stared shamelessly at us, and a few brave ones asked to take pictures with us. Also, someone who I would really, really like to meet alone in a dark alley someday decided to build a massive going at the viewpoint, which was rung with fervor and eruptive giggles every seven seconds or so.

Photo on left by Heather Holt

It was a very long drive home in the dark but a peaceful one as we listened to the sounds of the jungle, often the only ones on the road.

Photo by Heather Holt

On the final day of our travels in the Philippines, we rounded up a bike for one last round of exploring. Driving through the small towns of Bohol, I noted how European they felt — most had grassy town squares lined with ornate official buildings and churches. The presence of Christianity and other reminders of imperialism are impossible to ignore in the Philippines.

Photos by Heather Holt

For our final meal, we sought out somewhere by the sea, but away from the crowds of Alona Beach. We settled on Bohol Bee Farm, an organic farm with boutique accommodation and a destination-worthy restaurant. I’m going to give it to you straight and tell ya that from what I experienced, the stereotypes about Filipino food are true — I would describe the national cuisine as Burnt Meat Fat. So when I saw that Heather and I were due for a good meal, I mean that we had basically been living on the Filipino version of Saltine crackers for three straight weeks.

Wow, did Bohol Bee Farm deliver.

I’m not much of a foodie, and yet I’m willing to say that if you come to Bohol and don’t eat a meal here you are out of your mind. Every single thing that I snarfed into my face was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. While we were just moments too late for the last hourly tour of the day, we really enjoyed wandering the grounds as well.

Photo on right by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

I really enjoyed Bohol, and not at all for the reasons I had expected. My advice to travelers is to skip Alona Beach entirely, and base yourself either at Nuts Huts if you want jungle or Bohol Bee Farm if you want ocean, and spend your days exploring Bohol’s interior. For beach time, head to other, much more beautiful islands like Malapascua.

Can you believe this marks the end of my Philippines posts? Onto Singapore…

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When it comes to diving-focused destinations like Koh Tao, or the Perhentian Islands, or Malapascua, I get a lot of questions about what there is to do for non scuba fans. Malapascua is still deliciously undeveloped, and so in this particular case, the answer might seem to be, well, not a lot. Unless of course you consider lazing in a hammock under the golden sun, floating in warm turquoise waters, and playing in golden sands to be something — which needless to say, I do.

Still, sometimes you do need a shot of adrenaline, or a little bit of physical activity, lest those muscles atrophy completely. Feeling restless one day, Heather and I set out to completely circumnavigate Malapascua, a journey that Lonely Planet Philippines told us would take about three hours.

Thus far, we had only really covered the small Southern side of Malapascua’s vaguely rectangular outline. The full roster of Malapascua’s tourism infrastructure — hotels, restaurants, and dive shops — is contained to that small 10% of the island, so we were eager to explore what lied beyond.

Of course, one barrier was that there was no map, per se, other than the vague outline in our guidebook. How hard could it be? We’d simply follow the coastline, and when that become impassable, we’d slip into the narrow roads and passages that made up the islands’ villages.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

We marveled at how the small villages we passed showed only faint hints of the modern world. Fighting cocks crowed from under hand-weaved baskets, and half dressed children ran out to yell “hello!,” but karaoke music reverberated from thatch-roof huts with satellite dishes.

We had worried about feeling intrusive, especially as the lack of organized roads often meant we were practically tramping through someone’s front yard, but we were always met with smiles and friendly waves in the right direction.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Of course the day we chose to complete this mission clocked in at about a billion degrees (scientific measurement), so we were thrilled when we came upon a beach that we were hoping to cool off in. Relief was nowhere to be found, however, as the bay felt like bathwater.

Still, we had a nice breather watching local kids amuse themselves by flinging seaweed at one another, and taking shadow pictures with the starfish that littered the sand.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Soon we were rounding the corner on Guimbitayan, the opposite corner of the island from where we were staying. Due to the isolation of the village we were shocked when, mid conversation with three young sisters, the cheeky youngest one blurted out, “Give me money?” It was the only moment in an otherwise lovely day where I felt my heart constrict and I feared for the impact that tourism was going to have on the life of the many children we had so delighted in seeing play around the island.

Although I had spent almost three weeks in the Philippines at this point, I still wasn’t quite used to the sight of churches in Southeast Asia — especially considering they were often the most elaborate structure for miles.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

We were trying to find a way to reach the lighthouse when two bold little boys appeared offering to show us the way. We hesitated, because we were worried about the etiquette of having to tip them (and I don’t like to give money to children), but they charged off into the bush — and we just shrugged our shoulders and followed them.

The lighthouse itself wasn’t anything special, but the views were.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Once we had exhausted our picture-taking desires, we started to head back down the tiny hill we had ascended. But the boys weren’t done with us yet. “Cliff jumping?,” they asked, with smiling eyes.

When in the Philippines….

After that little adventure, which left me with a bruised ego (I wasn’t feeling quite as brave as I usually do) and Heather with a bruised knee (she jumped a bit far and smashed into a rock), we were more than ready for a quiet stroll back to our bungalow.

As I’ve said many times before, I’m so grateful to travel with Heather. We can both go camera wild and not worry hat we’re annoying our travel buddy by taking forty seven frames of the same bangka, and it challenges me creatively to be around another artistic spirit.

Though as you can see from the resulting images, inspiration was not in short supply on Malapascua.

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

This little island touched my heart, and remains one of my favorite destinations of my most recent five month stint in Southeast Asia! Which photo is your favorite?

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Walking around the island on our two feet was a totally free activity, which made our budgets happy. Find your own cheap holiday ideas online and save!

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Yesterday marked a very special anniversary for me: Two years of remote self-employment, two years blogging away here at Alex in Wanderland, and two years of living nomadically.

It’s been a trip, in every sense of the word. From attempting drysuit diving in the frigid waters of Iceland to becoming a Divemaster in the warm seas of Indonesia, from throwing back $15 cocktails at a private VIP room in glitzy Vegas to surviving on $15 a day in the remote hill towns of the Philippines, from catching a wave in Oahu to catching a trapeze bar in Thailand, I’ve barely stopped to catch my breath. As always, just feel free to slap me straight across the face should I ever utter the phrase, “I’m bored.”

Like last year, I thought it would be fun to commemorate this day with a little look back over my shoulder.

My Year in Travels

My monthly roundup posts cover the highlights and lowlights of my journeys, and you guys glimpse all my best pictures in my Photo of the Week posts, so this is more general journey through my year than a tops-and-flops-and-best-pictures thing.

1. Sweet Home Home

After the devastating breakup that rocked the end of my first year of travel, I really needed time stateside to heal within arms’ length of loved ones. That’s not to say I was sitting around staring nostalgically at my passport — I made trips to Philadelphia to zip my friend Wim into her wedding dress, to Colorado to drink champagne with 700 other travel bloggers, to Martha’s Vineyard to unknowingly help my mom buy a house, to Myrtle Beach to party shamelessly with my girlfriends, and to Niagara Falls to have lunch in Canada with my older sister. In the meantime, I enjoyed getting to know both Albany and New York City again through the fresh eyes of a traveler.

2. Iceland

For the second year in a row, my mom injected a little luxury in my life in the form of a beautiful family vacation planned by me, and funded by her. Iceland was my dream destination and I lobbied hard, much to the skepticism of my mom and sister. But after packing more action into eight days than I ever thought possible, we all left completely enamored with this Nordic island nation.

3. England

Icelandair has free stopovers in Iceland on all round trip flights, so in planning I realized it would only be around a $200 difference for me to make London my final destination and Reykjavik a stopover. Yes please! After three days in Manchester I hopped down to London for another seven, all the while crashing with various dear friends. Honestly, I would probably never have returned to England if not for the people I love there and the loophole that I found, but I’m glad I did — I discovered a few sides of London that have me looking forward to my next inevitable visit.

4. Hawaii

It’s hard for me to find words to sum up my six weeks on this beautiful island chain. Hawaii, the place I went to because I had friends and family to stay with and frankly didn’t know what else to do with myself, became a place of almost spiritual significance to me. In Hawaii I found a place that I could very well see myself calling home someday. I left with a renewed love of travel and life, excited once again about the road ahead of me.

5. Holidays at Home

It was important for me to celebrate the holidays at home after spending them abroad last year. I loved celebrating my birthday with friends, going over the top for Halloween with my fellow overenthusiastic Americans, and spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in my childhood home. Of course, I was feeling a little restless between all those designated special days, so I jetted of to Vegas for a girls’ weekend and to peek into the Grand Canyon, and then to Florida to run my first 5K, swim with manatees, and hang out with my beloved aunts.

6. Thailand

My return to Thailand kicked off my major journey of the year — a five month stint back exploring my favorite corner of the world, Southeast Asia. I promised myself that by returning to this region for the fourth time I would explore new countries and new corners, and though I started my trip with a few weeks in my old home base of Koh Tao I devoted much of my ten weeks in the country to exploring new destinations.

7. Philippines

After getting my Southeast Asia legs back in Thailand, I was ready for fresh new adventures in the Philippines. My three weeks here were challenging and occasionally frustrating, but I was awed by the natural beauty and wild variety that this country has to offer. The Philippines is definitely off the backpacker’s banana pancake trail of Southeast Asia, making it all the more rewarding to take on.

8. Singapore

Singapore was an unexpected addition to my itinerary — turns out the cheapest way to get from Manila to Denpasar includes a twenty-four hour layover in one of Southeast Asia’s most glamorous metropolises. I had never had much of a desire to go to Singapore, expecting it to be sterile and cold. I’m so glad for the turn of fate that brought me there and showed me how wrong I was — I can’t wait to return.

9. Indonesia

Aside from a week in Bali and a few days in Nusa Lembongan, I spent my six weeks in Indonesia on a teeny speck of an island called Gili Trawangan. I went there to get my Divemaster certification but walked away with much more — a sense of pride in having accomplished something that challenged many of my weaknesses, a sense of serenity that comes from weeks of ritual sunset bike rides and afternoon scuba dates with sea turtles, and an overwhelming excitement about a new relationship in my life. And it turns out Indonesia is not quite done with me — stay tuned for a post this week announcing my upcoming travel plans.

10. And Back Again!

Once again, I’m celebrating my travel-versary from the comfort of my home country. This visit had my flying home for my little sisters’ graduation, a conference, and some work gigs. You know I don’t sit still for long though — in six weeks in North America, I’m hitting up six different destinations!

Back on the road again soon….

My Year in Numbers

Countries Visited: 8 (down two from last year)
New Countries: 4 (also down two from last year, but bringing my grand total to 20!)
Plane Rides: 27, not including layovers. Yikes! This is almost three times the amount of last year. This mainly a result of traveling through Hawaii (island hopping flights are the only option between major islands) and non-mainland Southeast Asia (in the Philippines, flying was cheap and at times literally shaved days off of transport time). A number of domestic trips that involved round trip flights (as opposed to my usual, linear and long term travel) racked up this number as well.
Dives: 53 (I didn’t keep perfect records during my divemaster course, so this might be off by one or two!)
Posts: 227 (Down 26 from last year — wow, I can’t imagine writing more than I do now!)
Dollars Spent:  I don’t have solid number on this, but I like to address it as it’s one of my most frequently asked questions. Last year I netted an $8,000 dollar loss (calculated by looking at my bank statements one year later), and this year I netted a mere $4,000 loss — progress, but that cushion of savings is going to run out soon. [See how I saved up here.] Luckily business is growing rapidly and I think I’m close to reaching the point where I earn more than I expend. While I fail at tracking expenses, I’m fastidious about tracking income — in the past twelve months, I earned $17,400 from blogging and freelancing. Using loose math it’s safe to say this lifestyle costs me just under two grand a month.

My Year in Blogging

This has been an explosive year for Alex in Wanderland. I doubled my unique visitors to over 11,000 per month, and doubled my page views to over 51,000 a month. While I’m proud of those numbers and somewhat overwhelmed by them, it’s the interaction I have with my loyal readers that means the most to me.

It still blows me away to think that my posts are the first thing someone reads in the morning when they wake up, or the first thing someone reads before they go to bed, as two readers have told me recently in person and via email. Or that when I’ve said my blogs name, people from tourism board representatives at a major travel conference to backpackers I meet at the Full Moon Party have nodded and said, “Oh yes, I’ve been to your site.” MIND BLOWN.

But really, guys. Considering that I primarily just over share personal information and abuse proper grammar and rarely provide anything more useful than “Look at this fun thing I did/beautiful place I went!,” I’m humbled that so many of you check in with me so regularly. Your emails, comments, and social media shout outs are what puts the love into this labor of love. There are tough times on the road — blog hacks, heartbreaks, non existent internet access and missed deadlines, distance from home in times of tragedy. But thanks to the community that I have here, I never really feel alone. I am humbled by your support, your feedback, and the time you give me in your day. Truly.

I’ve also reached a point where I’m partnering regularly with brands that I love and freelancing for outlets that make me proud. Do I feel like I’ve “made it,” as one reader recently asked me? Hell no — I’m still a little fish in a vast pond. But as I put it to a friend lately, I certainly don’t think I’m one of the cool kids. But I do think the cool kids know who I am, and they give me a little nod when I walk past their lockers. And that’s not a bad place to be.

And now, some of my favorite posts of the last twelve months.

Funniest: The Time with the Tigers in Chiang Mai, The Saga of the Stolen Motorcycle, Surviving a Blog Hack, Cooking Class for the Domestically Challenged

Most Creative Content: Welcome to Iceland, My Bedroom Makeover, Introducing the Big Island

Musing-est: Tourists Behaving Badly, On Envy, Happiness at Twenty Three, To Hawaii with Aloha, In Memory, Only Twenty Three

Most Beautiful Subjects: Five Days in Kauai, Reykjavik Rocks, Walking with Giants, The Beauty of Railay, Diving Donsol

Most Useful: Five Fantastic Hikes on Oahu, Staying Fit on Koh Tao, The Perfect Travel Camera, The Hawaii Hostel Experience, Where to Eat on Koh Tao, The Eco-Traveler’s Packing List

Greatest Adventures: Scuba Diving in Iceland, Skydiving in Hawaii, Running My First 5K, Hiking Haleakala, Flying over the Vegas Strip, Swimming with Manatees, Rafting Through the Thai Jungle, Diving with Sharks in Malapascua, Hiking to Batad

Most Commented: One Year Later, Getting in Shape for Travel, Whaling in Iceland, The Next Piece of Paradise

All this reflection has me filled with gratitude and nostalgia for the road behind me, and bursting with excitement about the possibilities of the path ahead. I have the same question that I ended my Year One recap with: Where will I sit on June 9th, 2014, as I hopefully write a recap of my third year of living out of a backpack? If you’ll have me, I’d love to share another chapter with you. For a girl who spouts around 1,000 words a day, I can only think of two that sum up what I want to say to all of you reading this post:

Thank you.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope wherever you’re reading this post is as beautiful as where I’m writing it from — my sunny backyard in Albany, New York! This week has been a quiet one for me as I focus on website updates, finishing up freelancing projects, and tackling my never-ending inbox avalanche.

I snapped this photo while walking my canine nephew Boo in Rochester. I stopped to visit my sister for twenty four hours on my way back from TBEX, and I only wish I could have stayed longer.

Stay tuned for a major post tomorrow morning!

Did you enjoy this post? If so, please consider sharing on Facebook, Twitter, or via Email through the icons below. Also, I’d love to keep sending you updates about my (mis)adventures around the world, so please subscribe to Alex in Wanderland via RSS or by email below!

Idyllic Malapascua is just a teeny blip on the Philippine’s tourism radar in comparison to bigger stars like Boracay or Palawan — and that’s part of what makes it so alluring to those who do make the arduous journey to get there. Those that do are mainly in pursuit of diving experiences that are hard to replicate elsewhere, like spotting shy thresher sharks or getting up close and personal at a sea snake breeding ground.

While time and budget constraints kept me from exploring the underwater world of Malapascua to the extent that I desired, I did get a taste of what it is that attracts scuba enthusiasts from around the world.

Monad Shoal Thresher Shark Dive

Malapascua’s most famous dive is at the Monad Shoal, where boats assemble before sunrise, filled with divers hoping to spot elusive thresher sharks and manta rays. This has the potential to be either the best or most boring dive of your life — divers line up on a 25m deep ledge and sit shoulder to shoulder behind a rope, waiting for the elusive creatures to show. They often do, thanks to the underwater cleaning station of wrasses in the area, but even so, poor visibility can make them near impossible to see.

But that’s fine, because who doesn’t love to get a 4:00am start on their day, anyway?

Photo on left by Heather Holt Photography

While swimming to and from the shelf, there isn’t too much to see, maybe a few butterfly fish here or a scorpionfish there or a cheeky sea worm catching a ride. But we were absolutely fascinated by the jellyfish and long strings of transparent things that filled the water. We tried asking around about the long stringy things, but the best answer we got was a guess that they were egg sacs. Any marine biology geniuses out there care to share?

Photo on right by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Heather and I ended up subjecting to ourselves to the 4am wakeup not once but twice, as we weren’t so satisfied with our first crack at the threshers. We saw one, but it was kind of similar to our whale shark experience — blurry, and blink-and-it’s-over.

The second time we left more satisfied. Unfortunately, the visibility wasn’t great while we were there, but still — we were able to experience the majestic whip of their tails, the shy smirks on their faces, and the heart-beating excitement of one swimming into your camera frame.

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Prices vary around the island — don’t be afraid to negotiate. Heather received a discount for being a PADI professional and I received one for having my own gear, and so we each paid 1,350 pesos, or around $33 for each thresher shark dive.

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Gato Island

Unfortunately, most of the reefs closest to Malapascua have been destroyed by dynamite fishing and other past mistakes. Luckily, nearby biodiversity hotspots like Gato Island are still thriving marine sanctuaries.

We signed on for a two dive trip to the island, and set off hoping for an experience like we had diving off Donsol the week prior.

I call this Katy Perry Music Video Coral — doesn’t it look like cotton candy?

While nothing could quite match up to Donsol, we did have two fantastic dives at Gato. The coral is healthy and diverse, and there was a wide variety of fish species to keep us happy and snapping. We were, however, kind of underwhelmed by our divemaster and fellow divers — though they did give us plenty of inside joke material for years to come! Normally I think diving is a foolproof way to meet cool people, but I guess there is an exception to every rule.

Photo on right by Heather Holt Photography

Hands down, my favorite discovery of the day was this particular anemone, which would glow with magnetic neon intensity from the ocean floor. The only word I have to describe my reaction to this creature is swooning.

I was able to see how bright it truly was when on our second dive, we entered a cave so dark we had to take along dive lights. The divemaster had assured us that at the other end of the cave, we would find circling white tip reef sharks. Sure we would, I thought sarcastically.

Well you could have knocked me over with a snorkel, because when we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, we too saw the silhouette of a circling white tip reef shark. We all watched in awe for as long as the shark allowed until he was finally drawn away from the entrance. It was a beautiful moment.

While I was setting up my camera to take this shot, some debris seemed to be in the way. When I moved my camera to clean the frame, I saw that it was a spanish dancer flatworm! It was the first one I had ever seen swimming in the open water, and I was overwhelmed by my luck. While I was trying to line up a shot of him, a sea snake shimmied by.

And then my brain exploded.

While I never quite wanted to leave the cave, the beautiful reefs that awaited us on the other end were a fine consolation. After my mask and camera fogging debacles in Donsol, I was thrilled that all my equipment was behaving as it should. However, my camera battery died at the end of the second dive! I always travel with two, but I hadn’t thought ahead to switch to my spare. Luckily I had gotten some great shots already, and Heather took care of the rest.

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo on left by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Diving at Gato is a little pricier than local Malapascua dives due to the distance and the fact that a torch rental is often required. Keeping in mind our discounts, Heather and I each paid 3,000 pesos, or around $73 usd for two dives. Strangely, no lunch was included but we were told to bring our own — the first time I’ve run into that particular setip.

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Night Diving

I didn’t go on any night dives in Malapascua due to budget constraints and work deadlines and uh, hating night dives. Heather however was enticed by the fact that it was mandarin fish mating season, and set out one evening at dusk. While I can’t tell you much about this dive, I wanted to show these amazing images for anyone who is considering night diving in Malapascua. They almost tempted even me!

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

Photo by Heather Holt Photography

I loved diving in Malapascua, and can’t wait to return someday to hit up all the spots I missed! What’s your favorite place to dive?

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So technically, I’ve already declared paradise found at least twice on this blog. First, way back in 2009 when I landed on the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia and felt certain that I had indeed discovered Heaven on Earth. Then, in 2011, I found myself on Koh Rong in Cambodia, and my Eden-Meter went wild again. Over the years I visited islands throughout Southeast Asia, The Caribbean, Central America and the Mediterranean, but never found another that truly competed with the raw beauty I had found on those two islands.

Finally, in 2013, I found Malapascua — and the trifecta was complete.

Photo by Heather Holt

Just one drop in the Philippine’s 7,000+ island chain, Malapascua came on to my radar based on the effusive recommendations of one of the most seasoned travelers I know. It didn’t even make the list of Lonely Planet’s top seven Visaya Region highlights — but something about the way Lindsay gushed inspired a serious case of wanderlust in me.

After another long, epic day of transportation hell that started before dawn and ended at sunset and defined travel in the Philippines, Heather and I landed on a dark, quiet beach. Along with a third traveler we befriended on the boat over, Megan, we settled for the first beachfront bungalow we could find and quickly succumbed to travel fatigue. And when we woke in the morning, this is what we found.

Photo on right by Heather Holt

Our little bungalow faced directly out to Poblacion Beach, a small C-shaped curve of sand stretching around a bay filled with bangkas providing transportation to and from Cebu island. Our little two story bungalow was quite pricey by Filipino standards at 500 pesos each, though I know that in many places $12 a night per person for an oceanfront room seems quite the bargain.

Giddy with excitement over finding the white sand and turquoise waters we had been hoping for, we set off to explore the southern stretch of the island, where the small hum that is tourism in Malapascua is centered.

Poblacion Beach is stunning, and could hold its own in a World’s Best Beaches competition — let me just establish that before I say what I say next.

Poblacion Beach is a dump compared to the sensory-numbing beauty that is Bounty Beach.

Photo on left by Heather Holt

Photo by Heather Holt

Photos by Heather Holt

Time on Malapascua melted away, and scheduled hours were replaced by casual moments in which we were laying out our sarongs for beachfront massages, taking endless photographs of colorful bangkas, eating lazy lunches with toes in the sand, or snuggling with members of the island’s resident adorable puppy pack.

Photo by Heather Holt

Oh, and sometimes we swam. And by swam, I really mean: moved slowly in a dreamlike state through the warm tourmaline waters, marveling at the way Malapascua had managed to make a real version of the HDR photography so favored for desktop computer screensavers.

This kind of paradise isn’t really conducive to raucous nightlife — it brings about a contemplation in people for which Full Moon Party-style antics would only be a nuisance. Appropriately, the most happening place in Malapascua once the sun starts it’s inevitable descent is a quiet sunset bar floating a couple hundred feet from shore.

Luckily, there’s a free ride.

Photo by Heather Holt

Malapascua was exactly what I needed, and along with Batad would be one of my top two destinations in the Philippines. Together, these two places taught me a lesson. Paradise does exist — it’s just never easy to get to.

Stay tuned for our adventures around the island and under the waters of Malapascua! What’s the most beautiful island you’ve ever been to?