In my never-ending exploration of hostels in Southeast Asia, I stumbled across a recently opened hotspot in my next destination of the Philippines — Pink Manila. My first week in the Philippines I was flying solo, and so I was eager to meet other travelers to explore what I considered a somewhat intimidating city. I had…

I had big plans for Manila. I wanted to take the infamous Carlos Celdran tour of the historic Intramuros area, enjoy the nightlife of glittering downtown Makati, and take a trek out to the shoe museum featuring footwear of the fascinating Imelda Marcos. Unfortunately, I arrived in the country to heartbreaking news, followed immediately by the…

I remember back to years ago, before I first stepped foot in Southeast Asia. I knew that geographically there were different countries here but I couldn’t help but picture them as one homogenous lump of rice, temples, and elephants. Of course, it didn’t take me long after arrival to begin to appreciate the nuances and individualities…

I can’t believe today marks one week since I arrived in the Philippines. It’s a full third of my trip — which is clearly not anywhere near long enough. The highlight so far has undoubtedly been the rice terraces of Batad. There are not enough adjectives available to describe how awed, inspired, and humbled I was…