Yes, I’m back in Singapore. You’d think after all these years I’d get tired of this city, but no. Everytime I come here there’s always something new to discover.
Today I made two new discoveries: great Thai food along Bencoolen Street that would not burn a hole in your pocket and oh so yummy xiao long bao from Din Tai Fung.
Read the rest of this entry »
There’s not much to say (actually, there’s plenty, but I’m just lazy), except that it has been one hell of a year. Both 2009 and 2010 has started off slow, but on the second half of 2009, things got crazy and I’ve traveled more than I’ve ever had in my whole life. This year is shaping up to be the same.
While the main theme of 2009 travel is Southeast Asia, 2010 so far have been mostly domestic travel. I’ve only been out of the country once this year, but I’m looking forward to my travels around the region come May (and June. And August).
Read the rest of this entry »
I am scared. The thought of being alone in an unfamiliar place scares me. No one close by to save me when I’m in a pickle. But the thought of being in an unfamiliar place excites me too. Even if I know no one’s around to save me, it gives me a great sense of satisfaction that I can handle things on my own.
I am paranoid. There’s hardly a time when I don’t think about death when I’m inside a moving vehicle. I think about boats capsizing, trains derailing and planes crashing, usually when I’m inside them. I’m paranoid that someone would take off with my bags as soon as I let my eyes off them. I can think of a hundred reasons not to get out of the house, but I can think of a thousand more reason why I should go out and explore the world.
Read the rest of this entry »
I’m writing this from the dining area of the Lavender Lodge in downtown Kota Kinabalu. I’ve been here since Saturday, and if it weren’t the start of the week, I probably wouldn’t be blogging this early.
I meant to write a day to day update, as I did for previous trips, but I figured I owe it to myself to have a break from blogging and to travel just for the love of it, and not because it’s a great material for my blog. The daily recaps of my travels take a lot of discipline and energy and somehow made it seem as if everyday should be interesting just so I would have something to write about. I’ve done a lot of interesting things this weekend, though I wouldn’t write about it until the coming days or weeks.
Read the rest of this entry »
The number 9 has always been my lucky/unlucky number. Maybe I’m just thinking too much into it, but I’ve noticed that through the years, things happen on the 9th. Doesn’t help that I’m the 9th kid in the family either. Travel-wise things have been really great for me this year. I’ve been to a lot of places and traveled more than I ever had in the past years. When this year started, I said I do not have major plans for travel, except for a couple of trips. Much to my surprise, I ended up taking trips I never really planned for (a month’s headstart is considered not planned for!).
While going through some past entries, I came upon a list I made back in 2007: 10 Places I want to visit in the next two years. I have totally forgotten writing this year and reading it again, I was so proud of myself for taking out 7 out of 10 places. Six of those places were also visited just this year. My year-end post for 2009 will be a recap of that list from two years ago.
Read the rest of this entry »
There’s another on-going seat sale right now, and despite my vow not to use my credit card this month, I ended up abusing it. My last tally of 7 tickets have now risen to 13 tickets. Total damage to my credit card: Php 2,335.80 for 6 one-way tickets to different destinations. Next year is going to be totally crazy. Fare thee well, Japan.
So how do I end up with these cheap fares? Here are some of the things that help me score tickets at rock-bottom prices:
Read the rest of this entry »
Hi, I’m Nina and currently, I’m holding seven airline tickets. Some are for local destinations, some for international; some one-way, some round trip.
Here’s a short break from my Boracay and Malaysia posts: a video clip for the upcoming Philippine Blog Awards:
This year’s blog awards will be held in three different cities in three different islands: October 9 in Manila, October 17 in Cebu and October 24 in Cagayan de Oro. Can’t attend? You can watch the awards night live over at Flippish.com. For more details, visit the Philippine Blog Awards website at www.philippineblogawards.com.ph.
Nina, going through quarterlife crisis, decided to stop talking about traveling and actually start traveling. Starting with a solo weekend trip to Cebu to a backpacking trip in Thailand and Singapore, she finally made it out of Asia and into Australia. After spending close to six months down under, she's happily settled in Manila (for now), intent to explore the best things the Philippines has to offer.
