I’ve never traveled as light in my life as I did when I went to New York. One backpack and—wait!—that’s all, just one backpack! Here’s what I did and depending on the kind of travel you’ll do, this may work for you too.

1. Roll or fold. Decide what fold works for your clothes: there’s the roll (it like an eggroll) and the fold (it into squares until you can’t fold it any further). The roll can make for more compact spaces but will wrinkle your shirts too much; the fold can take a little bit more space but will minimize wrinkling. I’ve always used the roll on my previous trips. This time I tried the fold and it got me to fill an average-sized backpack with all my stuff. It worked. Try that, too.
2. Toss the bottles. This is a guy hack, meaning this applies only to guys who are more concerned about packing as little as possible than bringing a comprehensive kikoy kit. So guys, listen: if you’re traveling with women, leave most of your toiletries behind. You see, girls always bring soap, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, cotton buds, facial cleansers, moisturizers, scrubs and all the works. This is the universe’s way of allowing men to pack light. Take heed.
3. It doesn’t have to be a 3-lb. towel. Oh those towels, they take up so much space but we need them! But do we really need them? I know, we need something to dry us up but does it have to be all big and fluffy? No. I brought an extra clean shirt with me and used to dry me up after a bath. Works the same as a real towel. (But if your trip involves toweling yourself in the beach, I think that’s a different story.
4. Limit to one. A book for quiet company and a notebook and pen to write your thoughts.
5. When I say one bag, I mean one bag. If you need an extra bag to take with you on your daily exploration around town, don’t bring one. If your backpack is not the humongous mountaineering kind, it should work for that as well. Bring a large foldable bag where you can throw in the rest of your things, leave in the hotel and take with you your backpack where your camera, book, notebook, wallet, maps and guidebook are.

The Sarao jeepney pulled over the side of the road where a sign stands; It reads Welcome to Bukidnon. The 30-minute ride from Pearlmont Hotel took us to the border between Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon divided by that part of the great Cagayan de Oro River. The group headed down to the riverbanks through a gradual slope from above the road. A nipa hut with a toilet room stands alone across the path. A five-hour river cruise cannot be disturbed by an urge to wiwi so a toilet in the middle of a forest, although unsanitized, was a welcome surprise.

As the guides from Rafting Adventure inflate the boats, we strapped our life vests on and secured our belongings in a waterproof nylon bag which would later be tucked and tied inside the raft. All cameras that don’t have water-safe cases go in, like mine; the ones that do will be held by the guide assigned to our boat. He would take all the pictures both when we slide down the smooth current and when we grapple with the raging rapid with our helpless paddles. Great, everybody will be in the picture.

“All of you, huddle!” shouted the guides’ leader. Seeing that everyone now wears their life vests and head gears, it was time for the short orientation. He began by recounting a short history on how the whitewater rafting industry came into being. I thought that was just a way of saying they were the pioneers.

And so the Pioneering Guides taught the group of the appropriate paddle strokes, safety measures on and off the water, and essentially, how to finish the tour… alive. Why, he spoke of how you can get carried away by the water and hit your head against huge and lethally hard rocks, seen and unseen on the river surface. I have to say the orientation got me more concerned than assured. No one has died yet though, he said in jest, but a first one is always welcome.  Read more »

New York City is not perfect. People walk fast. Cars clog the streets. Garbage pour out on your path. Train stations are grimy and dank. Poverty is unexpectedly evident for an American city. And hotel receptionists are snobs.

If you think about New York City as all intricate and exquisite then stay inside your posh little hole in The Plaza or Four Seasons and try your best not to step outside. Your expectations will be shattered to pieces.

The moment you leave your hotel room is the moment you’ll decide if “you heart New York” or not. Will you fall out of love after seeing her callused feet, her weird habits, her unbecoming mannerisms? Or will you love this city all the more?

I think I’ll stay in love for as long as possible, dark underarms and all. And here’s why:  Read more »

(Photo: eye2eye)

Now and then, our mailboxes become destinations of wonderful surprises, like, say, airline seat sale announcements. That moment spawns into hours and days of wanderlust energy when phone networks clog a little bit as people try to summon their friends to plan for getaways and weekend-long retirements. Everybody seems to breathe a sigh of gratitude to the heavens for seat sales.

If they’re not cheap, they’re free.

Last year, I went on a four-day trip to Camiguin and Cagayan de Oro and paid only 400 pesos round trip via Cebu Pacific. And that’s only because I checked in a bag. Two of my office mates only had carry-on luggage with them and literally paid nothing for the same trip. They were cheap last year, they are cheap today and there are no signs of it going away.

A chance to be out alone

I think seat sales are opportunities to travel solo . Seat sales are like marshmallows melting in your mouth, they’re short and quick and sweet. You don’t have much time to mull things over. So you go ahead and just freaking book it.

I have never been out on a new town alone. But it’s something that electrifies me when I think about doing it since the idea hit me and it’s promises cuddled me. Last month, I learned about Philippine Airlines’ Seat-All-You-Can promo a few more days before it lapsed. No plans, no companions and a steal of a price in front of me, I booked a flight to Ilocos in November. I’ll start somewhere local.

You just keep flying

They’re practically giving away tickets to see the world. Grab one, or two! Make some spur of the moment travel plans. Peruse the list of destinations on sale. Then decide in a wink where you want to in the coming months. I have flights to Hongkong and Palawan in September and October and I bought them both from PAL’s seat sale.

Air travel was never like this in the old days. It used to cost a lot to move from cities and countries. That’s why most air travelers are just business people who run work errands in different locations. Today, airplane cabins are more packed with fun people who run errands to mountain cliffs and deliver breaking news to clown fishes and sea anemones.

Today, May 29, is the last day of Cebu Pacific’s 3-day seat sale. Go ahead, do something random and quick—book now!

Update: SeaAir’s 14th Anniversary Promo Sale until May 31, Sunday.

Paralyzed by hunger and weariness after a long line to get a cab, my first taste of New York City is one of shame when I think about it now. The familiarity of it though, the kind where the echoes of conversations are in a language that reminds you of your childhood, grounds you in anticipation of the day when you come back home. Besides that, I could have chosen a better place to take in New York on the first night. That’s what this trip was about anyway.

Instead, there I was, in one of the biggest gastronomically diverse cities in the world, you can see me from outside the well-lit glass windows happily tearing the crunchy skin of chicken, pausing to close my eyes and reveling at the familiar taste of home-made cholesterol, then shoving in a wheelbarrow of rice and finishing it with a quick gulp of soda from a bright red paper cup that bears a face of a smiling bee.

I’m in New York City and my first stop had to be Jollibee.

Read more »

Big cities like New York City fit my image of America more than the suburban neigborhood of Minnesota does. In my mind, walking the gridlock streets of Manhattan teeming with unreasonably busy people, surrounded by lofty and charmingly constructed buildings and serenaded by an odd mix of car horns, people’s chatter and muted saxophone tunes from afar felt like it’s my first time to the States all over again. It’s Culture Shock Round Two.

A history you would call ‘rich’

New York City has a long history to tell. The 16th century saw the arrival of the first Europeans who settled in the islands and pretty much created communities that set off its own civilization. After the Revolutionary War in the 18th century, George Washington was sworn in as president on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall St. thus making New York the first federal capital of the United States. That didn’t last long though as the US Congress at the time established Washington DC. Read more »

(Photo: kwerfeldein)

What do you do when you’re bored to tears waiting for somebody? You take a walk—a nice long walk.

I’m not good at waiting; it turns me into a bitchy monster that if not controlled can make some things a bit of a mess for a time. But I found an easy way to work around it and the results turned out to be more than I expected. The key is to distract yourself: to wait constructively. Read more »

Mention Minnesota to anybody and it’s impossible not to talk about two strangers’ favorite subject: the weather. Winter can be ugly and rough but if you know spring is coming right next after, it might be worth all the shoveling and the car skids. I’m proud to have survived two Minnesotan winters (2007/2009) and it’s serious business to get warm, I tell you. The first one in 2008 I flew out in the middle of the cold month of February and failed to reap my rewards of tossing the thermals in spring. This time around I flew in early February and actually see the slow and beautiful transition from gray-toned winter to sun-colored spring. Read more »

Here are some nice travel articles I found floating around the web lately. Help yourselves!

1) 25 Movies that Literally Moved Us

When money is elusive and the farthest place you can ever go is the Italian aisle of the nearby grocery shop, movies come in handy to take us to faraway lands and oceans. At least for the meantime—movies will do, and they’re great sources to find inspiration for your next travel opportunity. In the article, BudgetTravel.com gives tips, cost estimates and contact information when Your Turn comes to go right to the places shown in the movies. Careful: it’s convincing; you might even just skip the movie and move. Literally.

2) 8 Books You Shouldn’t Travel Without

Perhaps the best companion, along with a camera, books make traveling to a foreign place a more enriching experience. You actually travel to two new worlds at the exact same time. Although, it’ll be nicer to read something about Rome when in Rome, or New York when in New York. Dang, I’ll be going to the latter in the middle of May and yes I’m reading something now about New York—a guidebook, no less: The Lonely Planet Guide to New York City. Frank Bures suggests various genres you can thrown in to your traveling bag as you move and tells you why you should.

3) Lonely Planet’s Philippines Travel Info and Guide

Speaking of Lonely Planet, one of the world’s go-to for travel help, their info page for our country lists their Top 15 Picks in the archipelago. I’m sure a lot of us haven’t been to most of those places in the list. Out of the 15, I’ve only been to 5. Also, we get a lot of loving from Lonely Planet: “The Filipinos themselves are among the most ebullient and easygoing people anywhere. The Philippines truly qualifies as one of the last great frontiers in Southeast Asian travel. Cross whichever ocean you need to and see for yourself.”

4) 9 Great Ways to Get Thrown Off an Airplane

This is not something you want to happen to ya, so read this so you’re equipped with the things you should not ever say, do and wear while inside the plane—no matter how illogical and absurd they sound! The article by Jim Benning of WorldHum.com lists extreme situations, not to mention hilarious; they are not absolute rules, but you’ll never know when luck misses to strike you.

5) 10 Sizzling Hot Travel Tips from Sir Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon has an essay called “Of Travel.” Rolf Potts of WorldHum.com picked out the many great tips the 17th century philosopher offers in the essay and rewrote them in a way that’s easy to digest and highly applicable to your present-day travels. I particularly like those about finding a travel companion that challenges you and is not a pain in the ass (not Sir Francis Bacon’s exact words).

Please share with us recent finds in the comment section below. Long live free content.

(Photo by pfala)

When my friends and I traveled to Cagayan de Oro, Ninoy Aquino Terminal III was finally operating flights for a few local airlines, namely: Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines and PAL Express. The terminal officially opened on July 22, 2008, with 16 Cebu Pacific flights.
Read more »