Day 2 of my Thailand trip took me to the three most famous sites here in the old city — Wat Phra Kaew (the Grand Palace) and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha; Wat Pho, which houses the giant Reclining Buddha; and Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. How to get to Wat Phra Kaew… Continue reading The Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Rattanakosin is the old capital of the Thai kingdom. “Old” here is relative — before Rattanakosin, some three centuries ago, there was Thonburi, and Ayutthaya, and Sukhothai. (This much I gleaned by eavesdropping on a tour guide and his client in the Grand Palace.) Here you can find some of the most important sights here… Continue reading Walking around Rattanakosin in Bangkok
And all too suddenly, I’m in another country. I just finished my whirlwind trip to Palawan and Ilocos with my fellow lakwatsero teachers, and now, here I am. I’m in a hostel somewhere near Khao San Road, and I’m typing this atop a bunk bed in the female dormitory. Just before we checked in, we were… Continue reading Blogging from Bangkok
Our guide and driver, Kuya Nestor, probably liked us so much that he thought of bringing us to Taytay, the capital of Palawan during the Spanish Era. We spent a good hour in Fuerza de Santa Isabel, the old Spanish fort by the sea built to suppress the Moros who tried to reclaim what was… Continue reading A Side Trip to Fuerza de Santa Isabel in Taytay, Palawan
I never thought I’d be able to do this: go from one vacation to another with little breathing room in between — just enough time to go home, unpack and pack, upload pics, sleep for a few hours, and pet my dogs. Last weekend, I was in Palawan; just earlier, I was in Ilocos; now,… Continue reading The Majestic El Nido, Palawan
*It would take another post altogether to explain how I feel about the “tourist vs. traveler” debate. Thing is, I’m not even going to say that I came here to Puerto Princesa as a traveler who’s looking for an “authentic” experience; after all, I really wanted to see the scenic spots here, the ones most… Continue reading Touring* Puetro Princesa City
I’m typing this in a private van that has been traveling for six hours from El Nido to Puerto Princesa. My companions are all asleep. I, on the other hand, had been knocked out for around 12 hours after a long island hopping tour. So here I am, just typing on my phone and looking… Continue reading Honda Bay
I’m still in Puerto Princesa right now. In the past four days we’ve toured the city, gone island hopping in Honda Bay, and visited one of the new seven wonders of nature — the Puerto Princesa Underground River. I remember the time when I (and hundreds and thousands of other Filipinos) voted to help it… Continue reading Puerto Princesa Underground River
I hang out with the most wholesome bunch of teachers, I swear. Tiki Bar is right across the street, and we also passed by a comedy bar, but right now at 12 midnight, my colleagues-friends and I are hanging out in Antsarap. It’s a bakery and coffee shop here in Puerto Princesa. Such is our… Continue reading The first of seven days in Palawan
Note: As of January 4, Filipino with ordinary passports can enter Myanmar without a visa for up to 14 days. [source 1, source 2] Do go; it’s such a beautiful place. 🙂 There are many sites which can tell you how to get your Myanmar tourist visa here in the Philippines — I personally found my… Continue reading How to get a Myanmar tourist visa
Ang Lakwatserang Guro 