Kara Santos

Review: Retro El Dorado Motorcycle Helmets by SMK

More Filipinos, including women, are driving personal motorcycles these days. In the past, I’ve always found it hard to find stylish and safe motorcycle gear like helmets that fit properly. Thankfully, more brands are coming into the country and giving riders different options to match their riding style and personality. If you’re a motorcycle rider, OBR, or a commuter who regularly uses motorcycle taxis looking for a lid that combines style and safety for city riding, then feast your eyes on the retro-inspired Eldorado helmets by SMK Helmets.

Review: O’Neal Pike 2.0 MTB Helmet

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on a biking boom in the Philippines and around the world, unlike anything we’ve seen before. More and more people are getting into biking as their main means of transportation and leisure weekend activity. Provincial borders may still closed and leisure travel is still prohibited in the NCR, but biking for exercise can really open up a whole new world of adventure.

10 Fun & Unique Things to do in Marikina

Despite being a highly urbanized city, Marikina still manages to retain a sense of history, nature, and culture. The “Shoe Capital of the Philippines” is a bike-friendly city that possesses a quiet, small-town charm. Heritage buildings are preserved, the streets are clean and well-maintained, there are actual designated bike lanes, a number of public recreational spots, and green spaces, and lots of charming homegrown garden restaurants, unique shops, and hidden gems here.

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Whenever I bike around Marikina, I feel like I’m biking around a small town in the province. While the rest of Metro Manila feels grimy, congested, and overly developed, you still get the feel of the simple provincial life in some spots here. Marikina feels like a modern-day pueblo where family-run businesses are still the norm and cultural heritage is still present. Here’s a look at some of the fun and unique things you can do in Marikina.

10 Things to Do in Antipolo

For those who live in the metro looking for a quick day-trip getaway relatively near Manila, Antipolo is a popular choice. The city of Antipolo is approximately just 16 miles east of Manila, making it accessible especially for those who live in the North. Antipolo sits on a plateau at a higher elevation and is best known for offering a scenic overlooking view of the rest of Metro Manila. But that’s not all it has to offer.

Elias Wicked Ales & Spirits: Craft beer hangout in Quezon City

Craft beer is one of the few things that has kept me sane during this pandemic. While my friends have been filling their homes with indoor plants and collecting every possible BTS merchandise out there, I’ve been quietly drinking beer at home. Dining out and social drinking has not been allowed in the Philippines the months following the lockdown, but thankfully many local brewers have been able to adapt and started offering their beers for home delivery.

North Luzon Food Trip: Maginhawa Edition

We were initially planning to go on the North Loop last March, traversing the provinces of the Northern Luzon by motorcycle. Of course, COVID happened, so that trip didn’t push through and we’ve been living under the lockdown the past few months.

One of the things I look forward to the most during long road trips is the unique food offerings every destination has to offer. But while we can’t go on long road trips right now, thankfully, we can still get a taste of the regions through food. For many of us, ordering food has become the new travel in this age of the pandemic. We try to make our weekend meals more special and try something different to have something new to look forward to.

Oldest & Most Nostalgic Restaurants in Quezon City

What is it with nostalgia these days?

I’ve been missing everything about daily life pre-COVID, especially eating out. Who else misses the simple act of dining in at a restaurant and just chilling out with friends over beers at a bar? Part of what makes dining out special is the ambiance of the restaurant, the service, and the company and laughter as you enjoy your meals together with friends and family.

Anyway, this got me thinking of the oldest restaurants and food establishments in the vicinity that I can patronize for delivery/takeout and hopefully revisit when they’re allowed to reopen. It gives me hope to see establishments that remain resilient and have managed to endure through various crises including World War II, fires, typhoons, economic recessions, and currently this global pandemic where the Philippines is facing the world’s longest lockdown.

Urban legends in Manila: Balete Drive, Manila Film Center and more

The Philippines has its fair share of urban legends. A lot of Filipinos are superstitious or use horror stories to scare children into good behavior. We’ve all heard ghost stories or supernatural tales usually depicted as having happened to a friend of a neighbor or a distant family member and passed along by word of mouth, newspapers, and social media. Some urban legends have achieved cult classic status and become the subject of horror films and Halloween-related segments featuring haunted places in Manila.

How I’m Coping with a Life of No Travel

Like you, I miss the freedom of the open road. I miss that feeling of discovery, of stepping foot somewhere new for the first time and knowing that there’s a beautiful world just waiting out there to be explored. As much as I used to complain about travel burnout in the past, there are simple things I miss about pre-COVID travels. Like riding somewhere without the fear of being stopped at a checkpoint; those sudden and unexpected trip assignments to cover events in another province; or just random city adventures and drinks at a bar afterwards with friends.

I know there are so many bigger problems out there. So many people have been left jobless and businesses everywhere are suffering because of restricted movements brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainty of this virus and the possibility of getting sick and dying is very real. Everyone has switched to survival mode and leisure travel should be the furthest thing from everyone’s mind.

Biking in Quezon Memorial Circle

The Quezon Memorial Circle or QMC is a national park located in Quezon City, the largest and most populous city of Metro Manila, which once served as the official capital of the Philippines from 1948 to 1976. Commonly referred to as the “Circle,” this park is located inside a large traffic roundabout bounded an Elliptical Road. Back in the ’80s, my cousins and I used to go here a lot, for bike rentals, roller skating, picnics, or to just enjoy the green surroundings. It got a bit run down during the ’90s, but in recent years, it’s gotten upgrades and improvements. I’ve revisited QMC for various events over the years, but I tend to take it for granted. It’s just something that’s always been there. But the lockdown has left me with a newfound appreciation for any accessible urban destination that has greens and open spaces.

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