From Lines to LensesDubai Retrospective
Posted on June 9, 2017
A Light Between Oceans. Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach at Sunset.
I got this idea from one spontaneous traveler. He would spin a globe and stop it with his index finger. He will look at the place where his finger had landed and then pack his bags or suitcase quickly to go to that place. I did the same thing. My finger landed somewhere in the Gulf (or purposely made it land there) and decided that it’s Dubai. At least it had to be because it’s the only place I know that is within that neighborhood. So I literally ran to the airport and fly to Dubai right after that. Of course I am just kidding. 🙂 I believe I planned this all along and I am not a spontaneous traveler. My passport is not really one of the strongest in the world, so traveling to Dubai is a challenge. Besides, the Middle East (or Western Asia) is a dream (up until now) and way over my travel budget. Looking back now, it was not also the best time to visit the place. Summer has started and it was 40 degrees during the day; with the heat a different kind of painful on the skin and the air a bit stifling and suffocating for first timers. But it was also the time to take advantage of lower hotel rates and speedy Visa processing. I lodged in my Visa application on a Saturday afternoon and got the Visa the following day (a Sunday). So if you don’t mind staying inside malls during the day (which I am sure you don’t), early summer is a good time to visit this wonderful country. Read More
Macau Musings
Posted on March 5, 2017
The Ruins of St. Paul’s Church in Macau, China (January 2017).
This wanderlust has been an effective family therapy for us. I’ve been writing here for a while but I forgot to mention that I work abroad (currently based in Singapore) and away from my family. Like most overseas worker, I made it a point to go back to my hometown every 6 months and spend a week or so with my family. But before that one week is over however, we were already crying; knowing it will take another 6 months or more for us to see each other again. My father also used to work overseas when I was a kid; so I know how it feels like now for my own family. Nowadays however, distance (and long distance communication) is dead and modest travel is available for everyone. So instead of just me traveling alone, my family and I decided that (if I have the resources) we will meet regularly in some nearby foreign lands and explore those places together. Parting ways at the end of those journeys however is stll difficult; but now, the sadness is eclipsed by the memories of those travel experiences . Whatever. 🙂 Read More
Liebster Award 2017
Posted on February 15, 2017
The Venetian, Macau (circa 2017)
Two weeks ago, I was given the Liebster Award for bloggers by Audrey, author of the blog Living for Experiences. I thank Audrey for this nomination as I did not expect people to be reading a lot of my writings and musings. It is an honor to receive such a nomination. Check out Audrey’s blog here and be inspired by her amazing insights on life and her useful tips on travel. Read More
About Anniversaries
Posted on September 11, 2016
Heartland. Singapore CBD at twilight.
It’s been a while since my last write-up (or to be more accurate, since I last travelled). Honestly, I have maxed out my paid leave for the first three quarters of the year and have to wait for a few more weeks to be able to make use of the available balance. But that may not happen. I have resigned from my current post which might cause that balance to be forfeited; and it will take another long period before I could be allowed to take a long leave under my new / future employer. The good thing is that Singapore will have 7 long weekends next year. Some of the public holidays in 2017 will fall either on a Monday or Friday; so I am looking forward to working my road trips and photography projects around those long weekends. At least; until I get to my next major holiday. Meantime, I take the time to write this post to feature this beautiful country that has been second home to me for almost a decade. Read More
Silence is Golden
Posted on June 20, 2016
Awakenings. Sunrise at Club Med in Bintan, Indonesia.
This write-up should have been posted more than a month ago. I actually forgot I have these photos from our recent Club Med Bintan retreat; and I was only reminded of having them when I was looking at my passport while on queue at the renewal section of the embassy a few days ago. I have to admit that long holidays are always short. Even much shorter for a weekend company retreat like this one. And because they are short, there is always the chance of bringing home only a few photos; which you easily forget. Read More
The Seoul I Love
Posted on May 15, 2016
Morning Calm. A view of the Mapo gu area in Seoul from my hotel room.
You know what? It’s a good thing we will have our company retreat next week. It will give me enough time to shake off this overwhelming feeling I had from my last trip. I just came back from Seoul and obviously still in a daze; my body already here but my mind still back there in the cold. I usually only spend a week or so in a certain place so I could use my other leave days to visit other cities and see as much places as I can. But this is the first time I wished I had stayed longer in one city. It is also the first time I heard myself wishing for time to stop (obviously dreading the work waiting for me back in the office). It seems that I am the only one who has not seen Seoul yet. At one time and for some reason, I passed off an opportunity in the office for a free winter travel to this place. I regretted that one. So I made it a point that I get to visit Seoul this year. With all these recent frenzy for Korean drama, this Seoul trip is all the more significant. 🙂 Read More
Malacca: My Take
Posted on April 3, 2016
Christ Church Melaka in the early hours of the morning.
Even the hard-working aspiring writers find themselves struggling for words sometimes. I was almost tempted to simply post these recent photos and let the images speak for themselves. Besides, a picture paints a thousand words, right? Yeah right. But a part of me also believes that a thousand words paint a beautiful picture. If you love writing, use it to make up for a lousy photography (which I have already done so many times 🙂 ). This is a blog anyway so try to make use of what you’re paying for. Use it or lose it. Constantly moving or travelling does not always get you somewhere. So we stop for a while and write about our most recent travels to help us articulate and reflect on the things that we have learned from them. And what is a more perfect time to reflect and to remember than during the last Easter weekend? Read More
Putrajaya Architecture Ramble
Posted on February 16, 2016
Putra Mosque at twilight. Putra Mosque is the principal mosque of Putrajaya.
This is another one of those times when you get to choose last-minute holiday destinations. We took one week off in the office to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. At the back of my head, I was hoping that our company would send us to somewhere really cold or even exotic to spend the one-week holiday (like what our company usually do). Well, that didn’t happen this year. The announcement came in a bit late so most of us had to scramble and decide whether to go back to our respective hometowns or go somewhere else. The plane ticket to my hometown (Manila) could get a little pricey this time of year, so I just decided to go to nearby Malaysia. It seems that Malaysia for me is the default destination for long weekends and short road trips; for obvious reasons. From Singapore where I am staying, it is only a few minutes or hours away depending on your destination. Architecture, food, historical sites, beaches, nature, or theme parks; Malaysia has all that and more. You choose. Read More
A Year in Postcards
Posted on December 22, 2015
Postcard Merlion. Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort with Merlion Park in Singapore, the city where I am currently based.
I could have called this post “A Year in Review” or “My 2015 Travels” but I thought it would be a cliche. We always do this year-end post or write-up where we cross out a few items in our travel bucket list (or any bucket list for that matter) and admittedly, this post is in some ways no different. But it’s a little bit more than that. As I was writing the draft for this post, I breathed a prayer of thanks to my Maker for helping me get past a year of office work marked by an organizational mayhem caused by some internal special elite force who obviously refused to work for the common good. We are happy that we were able to neutralize that group and have put them all in the past. Peace has been restored and now we are back to doing the things that we are supposed to do, and that is (as a colleague puts it) “to work hard, to play hard, and to travel harder”. 🙂 Read More
Experiencing Thainess
Posted on November 30, 2015
A Thai Welcome. Mythical creatures at the Wat Phra Kaew Temple Grounds.
“Travelling: It leaves you speechless, then it turns you into a storyteller.”– Ibn Battuta
Finally, I ran out of sensible things to say except maybe to tell you about the series of crazy and unbelievable events that led me to this place and made me love it. Bangkok was one of the last cities I planned to visit. I have always loved the city and architecture which is quite evident in the subject matter of my photographs. I honestly was never fond of shopping, night markets, night life, and the beaches which I have always associated with Thailand (or even Bangkok). Did not really like ocean cruise holidays or water sports either (most of my friends live on land ). 🙂 A colleague however did a good job of documenting her last visit to Bangkok (her birthday) and with her interesting photos of the food and a convincing story of satisfaction, I was sold. Read More
From Lines to Lenses 