The Philippines from a Malaysian’s perspective
Editor’s note: In The Weekend Dispatch’s first installment of Blogger Exchange, Joshua Yam talks about his recent trip to the Philippines. “It was like…
A new way to explore old Manila
Despite the heavy traffic en route to Intramuros, my buddy and I still managed to arrive at the Bambike Ecotours headquarters. a few minutes before…
Back in Manila: Spoliarium, Rizal and the Zero Kilometer Marker
“This is my favorite spot in Manila,” I told my buddy as we stared at Juan Luna’s magnum opus, The Spoliarium. We were then at…
Where to stay in Manila: City Garden Suites
It was a surprisingly smooth ride from NAIA to City Garden Suites, a 3-star hotel located in Ermita, Manila. This was largely because we arrived…
Dinagat diaries: From Lake Bababu to Cabacongan Beach (last of 2 parts)
It was our second day at Dinagat, a cluster of mineral-rich islands located off the southeastern coast of Surigao in Southern Philippines. From our balcony…
Review: Lotus Garden Hotel Manila
Lotus Garden Hotel‘s unassuming facade is not its strongest selling point. But I did not consider that at all when I was still weighing hotel…
Memories of Siquijor: from Bandilaan to Salagdoong (last of 2 parts)
View part 1 of the Siquijor series here. On our second day in Siquijor, the ‘engineer’ unrolled before us a map of the island. His neighbors…
Dinagat Diaries (first of 2 parts)
I am not sure if my travel companions sensed my relief as we boarded M/BCA Seahorse Express at the boulevard in Surigao City. We were…
The Sounds of Buscalan
Buscalan in Kalinga, was very much alive when Andrew and I arrived there one Sunday morning in September. We were greeted with the curious stares…
My other best man speech
My dear Bagzh, I wrote this half-sober in our hotel room yesterday. You were sleeping like a newborn, and that’s only after a bottle or…